Zero Chakra Plan
by The Emerald Blight
Summary: War is hell. It brings with it nothing but destruction, death and despair. I will end war. I will end the needless cycle of those who would shed blood for petty reasons by taking that which they would wage war with. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives. or rather, I have. Thanos inspired Naruto. OPNaruto! Older Naruto! No Kyubi Naruto!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the collective works of Naruto, Avengers or anything that may come into the following **Fan made** piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

Eyes snapped open as the sound of creaking, a door opening, penetrated through the haze of unconsciousness that had filled her. She didn't know where she was. She couldn't remember much after jumping in the way of her friend and teammate's jutsu taking that fist of lightning through her chest with the intention of ending her own life for the sake of her comrades, her village.

The events leading up to that horrible point in time had been very trying, very difficult for Nohara Rin. She had been captured, taken prisoner by a Kirigakure Shinobi. The enemy had taken advantage of the fact that her sensei; Namikaze Minato had been absent with a mission of his own and been able to separate her from her only other team-mate Hatake Kakashi. She had been drugged, taken to a dark place and had a monster forced inside of her.

She still didn't understand what exactly Kiri had done to her. All she knew was what she had overheard her captors talking while under the impression she had still been asleep.

They had placed one of the nine Biju within her. The Sanbi. They had turned her into a living weapon with the sole intention of forcing her to release the Biju against Konoha.

It had been only a stroke of luck that she had escaped. One of the Kiri Shinobi had not tightened her restraints enough to prevent her from moving after they had checked the seal placed upon her, allowing her to struggle free and make her escape.

She remembered finding Kakashi, so desperate to find her and pleading with her to come back to the village; That Minato-sensei would be able to help her.

Rin couldn't allow that. Minato-sensei was trained by the Toad Sannin who was known for his sealing knowledge that much may be true, but sealing on this level was a league of its own. Even so, Rin could not risk her faulty seal failing before anything could even be done.

She tried to end it herself. She refused to be used to hurt innocent people, to be used as a weapon. But couldn't do it. No matter how strong her resolve, her body never obeyed the order to take her kunai and end it.

So she forced Kakashi to do it for her.

She could still remember it, the agony of his Raikiri as it passed through her chest and struck her heart. The overwhelming sadness of knowing she was going to die and seeing the horror and guilt on Kakashi's face.

And then nothing.

She should be dead.

She should be dead but she wasn't.

She waited, silently and carefully as footsteps entered the room. The scrapping sound a chair being dragged and a sigh, deep, masculine, as the newcomer eased himself into the chair.

She felt fear. Had Kiri recaptured her and stopped her from sacrificing herself? Worse still, had Konoha brought her back and saved her?

"I know you are awake child. Fear not, you are safe here."

Rin flinched despite herself. She did not recognise the voice. It did not belong to any of those that had captured her nor did she remember hearing such a voice at the village hospital.

Hesitantly she opened her eyes, blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the dim lighting before turning toward the speaker.

Red hair.

She hesitated when she saw this, for a moment thinking that Kushina-sensei was seated before her before remembering that this was a man before her. He had the same shade of rich red hair as Kushina-sensei that fell down to his shoulders.

His eyes were similar as well, a deep purple but one that held a soft warmth to them and a patience that didn't quite seem natural to the bubbly personality that was Uzumaki Kushina.

He was quite handsome she had to admit as she took in the rest of his appearance. He seemed to be around the same age as Minato-sensei with a lean, gentle face and fair skin.

He was dressed rather plainly, wearing nothing more than a simple pair of dark blue pants and a long sleeve white shirt.

"Ah, there we are." The man smiled as he looked at her properly, eyes squinting shut for a moment in a manner that was very Kushina-like before opening once more. "how are you feeling?"

Rin was silent for a moment, licking her lips hesitantly before swallowing nervously. "I-I'm fine."

The man winced almost comically as his eyes widened. "That bad huh?"

Rin almost frowned in confusion. Had there been something wrong with what she said?

"Is it the pillows? Are they too lumpy? Or maybe the blanket, it itches doesn't it?" The man fretted, seeming to look more and more frantic with every word that passed his lips. "That's it! I'll get you a new blanket! One that doesn't itch. But where to get blankets..."

Rin couldn't stop herself. A giggle burst out from her like a bubble popping at the sight of such a strong looking man behaving like a mother hen.

Her moment of humor had been noticed as the man faltered in his ever growing list of potential issues coupled with ever growing insane solutions. Really; who plans to invade the land of grass to steal their supply of cotton to make the perfect blanket?

"Please, calm down. There's nothing wrong with my pillows. Or blankets, they're quite warm thank you." Rin placated.

Thankfully for the sanity of the strange man, it seemed to work as he calmed down and sat back in his seat once more, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Ah, sorry about that. I've not had many guests in recent years." He apologised.

Rin nodded in understanding silently, taking a brief moment to look around and take in her surroundings.

It was a rather unremarkable room. Filled only with her bed, a bedside table and the man's chair. The sole window offered no view of the outside with its white curtains drawn shut as they were and the door leading out, a curious type of reddish-brown wood was closed shut.

"Perhaps I should explain to you the situation, help ease any concerns you have of what exactly is going on then?" The man offered, noticing her discomfort.

Rin once more remained silent. Not sure of what to say nor how to behave with this man. Was he an ally? An enemy?

"I found you on a battlefield near the border between the Lands of Fire and Water." The man began, speaking quietly as he hunched forward, arms resting on his knees. "There were a great deal of bodies there. All Shinobi of Kiri. It was a massacre. Most were dead and those who still lived were to far gone to save. All but you."

Rin frowned at this. She could remember the large force of Kiri Shinobi that had chased after her when she escaped and Kakashi trying to fend them off to get her to safety. But how had she been more realistic to save with a hole in her chest and ruptured heart than anyone else?

"You're injuries were severe I will confess. Fatal and beyond scope of recovery for most. But, you are not most it would seem."

This had Rin's eyes widen with fear as she paled. She shuffled back from the man, pushing into the pillows at her back as she tried to put some distance, any distance between the two.

The man didn't close the distance. He just held up a hand calmly. "It's alright. I have no intention of causing you any harm nor for that matter coercing you to do anything you don't wish to. Yes I am aware of the Biju that rests within you. In fact it is because of this detail that you are largely alive truthfully."

Rin blinked a few times as she processed this. She had heard talk of some of the villages having used weaponised Jinchuriki during the war, according to collected intelligence reports these Jinchuriki did seem to display minor examples of accelerated healing. But to this level? To be able to recover from an injury of such size and location, it was impossible.

"Of course I do mean it when I say that your Biju was _largely_ responsible for your recovery, not entirely responsible." The man continued, heedless to her thought process. "I was forced to supply you with a blood transfusion to boost your natural healing rate. Combined with the aid provided by your tenant, you seem to be coming along nicely."

With this answer, Rin's mind finally clicked to the other, more pressing, matter.

"My seal!"

The red haired man blinked in confusion.

"T-the seal that Kiri put on me, the one that holds the Sanbi. I-It's not stable, it's not going to hold! I need to get out of here, please, if it fails while i'm here the Sanbi will get out, I can't let it kill anyone."

Instead of earning the appropriate response of panic or even fear at such an outcome, the man just waved a hand dismissively before smiling at her warmly. "First of all, thank you for such concern for others, it's quite refreshing to see such compassion, especially now in the midst of a war." His smile slipped at this and Rin felt her gut clench at seeing such an expression of heartache before it was smothered. "Thankfully however, it is just you and I here. There is not a single living soul within several miles of our current location."

"B-but what about you?"

His smile returned with full force. "No need to concern yourself with me. I am fairly confident I could take care of myself if the need arose." He eased back in his chair and shrugged dismissively as he continued. "However such a thing won't be necessary, while you were recovering I was able to examine your seal and restructure it. You are at no risk of unleashing the Sanbi unless by your own will."

Rin was astonished. Fuinjutsu on such a scale, to affect a seal while in use, and holding one of the Biju at that, it was unlike anything she had heard of or even believed possible. She doubted even Jiraiya-sama or Kushina-sensei could achieve such a feat. But even now, as she focused inward, on her chakra flow and where she could feel the seal to be located, it no longer felt as, fragile as before.

"S-so you saved me?"

The man nodded, smiling widely as if immensely pleased with himself. "I was fortunate enough to do so, yes."

"W-what about Kakashi-kun." Rin faltered, eyes wide with a mix of concern and hope. "The Konoha Shinobi with grey spiky hair. Is he here as well?"

The man shook his head. "I am afraid I was not able to collect your friend. You were bleeding out and barely clinging to life when I found you. Not only but Konoha Shinobi were closing in at the time so I was forced to act quickly."

Rin frowned suspiciously at this. "Why would that be a bad thing? Are you an enemy of Konoha?"

The man shrugged indifferently. "I am neither enemy nor ally. I simply had no desire to waste time explaining myself to them when you were slipping away."

Rin accepted this. There were plenty of third parties involved in the war that had no relationship toward Konoha one way or the other. "I understand. Thank you."

"For what?" The man blinked, seemingly not understanding at all the reason for the gratitude.

"For saving me."

This appeared to embarrass the red head as he blushed lightly, scratching at a cheek as he looked away. "It wasn't all that much really. I'm more just glad it wasn't a wasted effort."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. Rin taking the time to allow the relief she felt to wash over her. While the man simply sat there, patiently waiting on her.

She flinched in her bed when the man suddenly shot to his feet, an expression of shock on his face as he clicked his fingers, as if realising some great and terrible fact.

"Ah! I forgot. I don't know your name."

Rin just stared at the man at this, an almost deadpan expression on her face as she looked at the individual who continued to remind her of Kushina-sensei.

"I'm Rin. Nohara Rin."

"It's wonderful to meet you Rin. My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

XxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N**

Alright sports fans. It has been quite a while since I last did….anything really. Apologies to those who were hoping I would pick up on Nihilistic Blade, but I have well and truly lost that to the ether. It has gone the way of the dodo.

This story has been in my head for the last week or so, with Infinity War coming close to its DVD release and with Shinobi Striker coming out soon.

I hope that you enjoy this as much as you did the previous story and give it time if it needs work.

This story is the combined work of myself Arhiman the Exile and Alakrux who helped develop story and plot idea as well as act as Beta Reader.

Don't forget to favorite, follow and review. Definitely review so I know if this is being well received.


	2. Listen to my Story

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the collective works of Naruto, Avengers or anything that may come into the following **Fan made** piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

' _I grew up in Uzushiogakure no Sato. It was beautiful. Peaceful. Not a man, woman or child grew up alone or without the comfort of home. We innovated out of a desire to bring peace and joy to those under our care and, for a time, prospered.'_

 _XxxX_

It was a crisp spring morning that saw a young Uzumaki Naruto out and about in the streets of Uzu. His parents were out of the village at the time, tending to their duties as Shinobi, apparently having been charged with escorting a young Uzumaki girl to Konoha.

It was strange to think that a few months back it had been Naruto himself that had been in consideration to be the one assigned to relocate to Konoha, something about a clan duty held between the Uzumaki Clan of Uzu and the Senju of Konoha.

According to the Uzukage though, Naruto had been passed up for consideration due to the girl having met more of the necessary requirements for the posting. Strange considering that as far as Naruto could recall, the Uzumaki girl was still just an academy student while he himself was a Chunnin, but it was above his pay grade and the decision wasn't his to make, so in the end while curious, Naruto moved on.

He didn't have all that much going on for the day, Yagami-sensei had given the team the week off due to one of his teammate's suffering a training accident a few days back and with tensions rising across the Elemental Nations the Uzukage had been reluctant to assign all that many missions that had teams leaving the islands. It was annoying at first, for Naruto who had been on the fast track to Jounin by the age of 15 which was an impressive feat in of itself considering the incredibly high standards held to all Uzumaki shinobi within Uzushiogakure.

Now, with everything going on, Naruto was starting to get worried that he wouldn't get the chance to get promoted for another few years.

So today had Naruto venturing out in his civilian clothes, simple shorts and a shirt bearing the Uzumaki crest with his eyes and heart filled with bowls of ramen.

According to the Uzumaki rumor mill, Ichiraku's had been able to import noodles from the Land of Noodles despite the rising trade taxes the Land of Water was imposing these days.

There was of course, only one problem.

And Naruto saw it when he turned the corner to see the Ichiraku restaurant across the bridge that passed by Uzu's central river. A sea of red hair.

Naruto swore under his breath and picked up the pace, not bothering with the bridge that was occupied by a number of milling civilians going about their daily lives in favor of running across the river itself, water walking without issue to the other side.

It would seem that he wasn't the only Uzumaki to actually pay attention to and believe the patented Ramen Rumors.

Despite his worry that he would miss out on old man Ichiraku's legendary ramen, Naruto still smiled and waved to the various clan members as he passed them, laughing mutually as more than one Uzumaki clan member jokingly taunted him by holding aloft the food of the gods before slurping it down, all the while maintaining eye contact.

It was just that kind of family. Nothing came between the Uzumaki family, not even Ramen.

Thankfully the stars were properly aligned and Naruto was able to buy himself a bowl of the Uzumaki Special, complete with the imported noodles. The Uzumaki thirst would always demand more, but for Naruto, and the family that surrounded him, it was more than feeding the craving for their clan favorite food. It was the enjoyment and experience that was always best shared with family.

That was the way of things.

Come hell, or high water. The end of the world or the end of Ichiraku's supply. Uzumaki were family. And family was everything.

XxxX

' _It has always been the nature of man to want what another has. What that man can take he will. And when he cannot, he will burn it down._ _It took two years before the drums or war could be heard and the fire was lit. it was my home; Uzu, that was to be the spark that set ablaze the pyre_ _._ _We were faced with destruction. I offered a solution._ '

XxxX

Naruto shouted out his denial, lashing out and kicking out with a foot, sending the mahogany table before him flying to crash into the far wall, narrowly missing one of the ANBU assigned to guard the meeting taking place. The heavy desk crashed to the ground with a resounding thud undamaged, leaving a spider-web of cracks marring the thick stone wall itself.

He spun to face the Uzukage himself, glaring at the old man and his assigned advisors. The rest of the council was ignored by the young Jounin. They had not voiced one way or the other to this matter so were spared his outrage.

"What do you mean No?" Naruto roared, the air heavy with chakra as his body reacted to his anger and frustration. The sounds of rain outside could be heard even through the isolated council chambers. "We face destruction! The combined might of three of the great villages! THREE! Kumo, Kiri and Iwa combined are marching against us! I offer a solution, a way for us to survive this and you say no!?"

The Uzukage shook his head sadly, seemingly disappointed in the young Uzumaki teen before him. "No Naruto, what you offer is not a solution. But Genocide."

"It is as Uzukage-sama says Uzumaki Naruto." the elder to the right of the aged Kage voiced. "you would have us send our Shinobi to the villages of our enemies to lay waste to their homes, their families? Then what? What would you have us do then boy?"

"We bring destruction upon their home as they intend to bring upon ours." Naruto repeated, his eyes sharp and tone thick with conviction. "And when it is done, we watch as our enemy retreats to what shattered remains are left, broken and defeated while we watch the sunrise over a grateful Uzu."

"Such a solution." The Uzukage said quietly, as if the very thought was close to breaking him. "you would expect me to be in favor of such a difficult decision. To approve of such slaughter?"

"The hardest choices require the strongest will." Naruto declared defiantly.

This sent a wave of muttered gasps and whispered conversations throughout the gathered council. Such defiance and insubordination had not been seen since the Warring Clan Era.

"Such naivety." The ruler of Uzu said strongly, a bout of anger finding him from the disrespect. "You think too simply young Naruto. You would simply snap your fingers and expect the world to be shaped to your whim. You will learn that reality very rarely follows such, foolish ideals."

Naruto growled angrily. He could not change the mind of these fools. Could they not see that for the Uzumaki Clan, for Uzu as a whole to survive what was coming for them, they needed to respond in kind. Naruto held no disillusions; he had never seen war. He had no idea what it was to walk into the field of battle and take lives on such a scale, but he would. If but a single Uzumaki life could be saved as a result of his will to act, then that was enough.

That his family would needlessly be at risk because these fools could not lay down their petty morality and honor. What good were such lofty things to the dead.

"Then what would you have us do Uzukage- _sama_?" Naruto bit out, forcing himself to bite his tongue with some of his more, creative, comments that came to mind. "What is your solution to this coming attack?"

The Uzukage sighed heavily, weighed down by the hat on his head as he slumped forward over his own desk, fingers idly rubbing the mahogany surface. "I have ordered messenger hawks dispatched to our allies within Konoha; the Sandaime Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina to request aid."

"And?"

"And we will fight. We will show the enemies at out door that we are Uzushiogakure no Sato and we are not taken so easily." The Uzukage declared proudly and with conviction, rising to his feet as he turned to the rest of the council. "Assemble our forces, gather every able man, woman and child and make ready. Have our civilians evacuated to the mainland and lock down the village seal."

Naruto watched with disappointment, shaking his head in helpless frustration as he watched the various military leaders and civilian chiefs leave the council chambers to carry out their orders. It wouldn't matter. Naruto knew that Uzu was more than its buildings, more than the land it sat upon. It wasn't the village property itself that he feared for. It was its people. The Uzukage could prepare as much as he wanted, evacuate as many people as he could, when the full force of three of the great five Hidden Villages of the Elemental Nations swept down upon them, they would be washed away and those that escaped would follow soon after.

"I know you are disappointed with me Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked back to the Uzukage, seeing the sadness in his gaze instead of the disappointment that had been cast his way previously.

"I have faith that we will prevail in this. We will hold long enough for Konoha to come to our aid."

Naruto just shook his head in silent disagreement. "And if they don't? If we end here because of your reluctance?"

"Then make sure that for every drop of blood we spill that they pay for it five fold." The Uzukage proclaimed. "You are a Shinobi of Uzu. Just as everyone else you will fight side by side with in the coming days, you will make our enemy pay for every step taken dearly."

This failed to inspire the young Uzumaki as the village leader hoped. Naruto could only watch sadly as the Uzukage turned and left the council chambers himself, to tend to his own preparations.

Naruto looked away from the old man as he left. His eyes finding the large Uzumaki clan seal that dominated the chamber floor.

The end had come.

And he had failed to stop it.

XxxX

' _My home fell. It took weeks for the combined strength of Kumo, Kiri and Iwa to breach our outer defenses, to just reach the shores of the village. Months passed and still we fought and throughout it all there was no sign of Konoha. The village of our Senju allies never came to our aid._

 _In the end, despite our strength, our courage, our WILL; the might of Uzu fell. The Uzumaki Clan fell and I woke up in the ruins of my own life, into the dawn of war itself._ '

XxxX

Several months had passed since the fall of Uzushiogakure. True to his word the Uzukage had arranged for all manner of transport to be made available to the civilian population. They spread out and scattered across the land, a broken people. What military force that remained behind to defend their home did so with all of their power. True to the Uzukage's declaration, for every Uzu body that dropped, five more enemy ninja joined them. For every Uzumaki that fell, they were avenged ten fold. There was something to be said, that by the time Uzu was truly destroyed, nothing more than a ruin, the armies of Kumo, Kiri and Iwa were just as broken and weary. They returned to their homes. Licked their wounds.

And then Konoha went to war.

As for Naruto. He woke up buried in the rubble of his home.

It had been during the final days of the siege. Naruto had proved a monster on the field of battle. True to his word he never hesitated nor faltered as he fought for his home and family.

Days turned to weeks and then months with every passing day bringing more pain and despair, and he never broke.

When the his grandfather fell to drive out a Kiri team that had bombed a school, he continued on.

When Uncle Hiro sacrificed himself to save the life of his cousin when an Iwa shinobi created a breach in the defensive wall, he continued on.

When his parents were butchered protecting a civilian transport as it fled the harbor, he continued on.

He continued on till the very end. When the Kage of the three enemy villages themselves appeared on the battlefield and met the Uzukage in combat and Naruto was ordered to pull forces back to the inner city. Naruto did his duty. He rallied the remaining forces back to the inner city, to ready a counter attack, to push back and drive the invaders out of the village.

Futile.

Iwa took advantage of the retreat. Iwa bombers managed to infiltrate the inner city before a defensive line could be established. For Naruto it had all happened in an instant.

He could remember ordering medics to tend to the wounded, rallying the still standing fighters to his position to make ready. And then fire and stone.

When he woke up, he was buried under several feet of rubble from the surrounding buildings and the cool bodies of those that had fought and died around him.

There had been nothing more for him in that ruin. There was nothing but death and despair for him in the ruined streets he had once walked through.

He buried the dead. Honored and remembered them.

And left.

He did not turn to Konoha. The supposed allies of his clan had promised under the oath of the Senju Hokage; Hashirama to come to their aid should the call be sent. Only for when that call went out, it was unheard and unanswered.

A part of him was willing to believe that there was more to Konoha's silence than what he knew. Perhaps the enemy had intercepted the distress calls before they made it to the Land of Fire, perhaps Konoha itself had been laid siege to.

Naruto didn't know. But or the most part it didn't matter. Uzu was gone, the Uzumaki decimated and Konoha had not come. That was enough for him.

He had already seen the aftermath of Uzu's destruction for the world at large. Konoha had since gone and declared war upon their destroyers. He had spied Konoha Shinobi now bearing the crimson swirl of the Uzumaki upon their uniforms. Tribute to their fallen allies perhaps?

Naruto didn't care. The Uzumaki were gone.

He had been forced to deal with the occasional head hunter. Rogue ninja and roaming bandits seeking to take advantage of the standing bounty placed upon any surviving Uzumaki by Iwa, Kiri and Kumo.

Naruto showed them the error of such thinking.

He left blood and death as he passed. He brought attention to those that would hunt him that such a path was short and mired with blood.

He became known to the bounty hunters that chased him. He was the Red Death.

XxxX

' _I travelled for many years. I saw the moment that Konoha received their Sannin from The Salamander. I saw the war come to a close with Konoha victorious. I left the lands of the Great Five and journeyed beyond even the reach of the Hidden Villages. I saw the peace that lives beyond the reach of the Ninja. I found resolve. Destiny._

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N**

Alright so this is the first official chapter. Right to where I am up to in regards to writing at the moment so it will begin to take some time for me to update, but it should be regular.

A couple of Easter eggs for future and ongoing references to different things. One in particular might not be obvious until it is fully realised but cyber cookie to whomever guesses it.

For those of you who are curious about the 'not incest romance' while having Naruto paired with Kushina llow me to clarify: They are the same clan being Uzumaki. but are not directly related to one another. unless you consider the Uchiha and Hyuga clans as a massive pile of incest. I don't so that is why I have deemed it not incest.

Additionally for the age of Naruto. he is six years older than Kushina.

As always, Favorite, Follow and Review.

Reviews for the Review God!

ja ne.


	3. A Flash of Rain

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **XxxX**

Naruto leaned back in the stone throne like chair that rest atop the ruin that had once been the Uzukage Tower, absently fiddling with a dull amber colored stone that glowed a soft light with his fingers as he rest his chin in his left hand, propped up on the armrest. The distance was significant but he could still clearly see the tiny form of a still recovering Rin as she walked the dilapidated streets of Uzu.

While heavy, the clouds that loomed over the fallen village held back the rain that had been pouring down since he had brought the young Kunoichi to the village.

It had been a couple of weeks since he had introduced himself to her and explained to her his identity as a survivor of the Uzumaki massacre. She had been horrified to hear him talk of the final days of the village and had been astounded to learn of his connection to the unknown Shinobi listed in the Bingo Book 'The Red Death.'

Naruto had been surprised to find himself in a state of shock, horror and even rage when Rin revealed something to him that he had been unaware of in regards to Uzu's fall. When he had explained to her that they had held of the forces of Iwa, Kiri and Kumo for months while waiting for Konoha's support, she had at first been reluctant to believe it; explaining that according to what she learned at the Konoha Academy; Uzushiogakure fell after a bare few weeks.

Naruto had nearly lost himself at hearing that. It seemed, when his own suspicions placed in line with what was being taught at Konoha, that the village of the Senju Clan had indeed gotten their message for help. And done nothing.

They had sacrificed the Uzumaki Clan, their allies, all for a reason to wage war.

Rin had refused to see him for nearly three days after that, almost inconsolable to learn that her village, her home, had allowed an entire village of innocent people to be butchered to justify the Second Shinobi War.

Following that, difficult truth, Rin had been more accepting of Naruto's presence. She had listened to him as he told her stories of his travels and adventures. Been in awe as he described the battle between the Sannin of Konoha and the dreaded Hanzo the Salamander of Ame, stared at him in wonder as he described travelling beyond the borders of the Elemental Nations to lands untouched by Chakra and war.

At times he just sat and listened to her. Listened as Rin shared stories from when she had been with her team back in Konoha and the trouble her team-mates Kakashi and a boy by the name of Obito got up to.

It was a few days ago that Rin was recovered enough to be able to leave her bed and, after showing her out and revealing to her where exactly she had been staying since waking into his care, she had been exploring with a mix sense of awe and horror.

The poor girl had been astounded to learn that she was in the ruin of Uzu. She had pestered him for nearly an hour for answers of how he had brought her here through the perpetual storm that had been surrounding the island chain for several years. He had just smiled with a shrug before replying with a 'just lucky I guess.' she hadn't really accepted it, but understood he had a reason for deflecting.

Naruto had distanced himself after that, choosing to watch from a far as she moved about the shattered village. Watch as she visited the once iconic landmarks of the village; the Uzukage Tower, Shinobi Academy, Lighthouse of Uzu and even what had once been Ichiraku's. Then she had gone to the mass grave.

It had been quite difficult for the Uzumaki, to watch and do nothing as the poor girl collapsed at the sight of grave markers beyond number and to see the names and ages marked upon their surface. She had lingered there for several hours before Naruto finally left her to her peace and returned to his own private quarters.

The next day he had shed a tear when he saw her having gathered flowers that had grown throughout different parts of the village and was in the process of laying them by each and every headstone.

That had been almost a week ago. And apart from a regular check to ensure her growing health and the continued stability of her seal, he more or less allowed her her privacy.

From where he could see her now, it seemed that Rin had chosen today to try and find the old history records that Uzu had once kept on the Warring Clan Era, most likely curious to see how they matched up to what Konoha claimed. She would be safe, the village had been under his watch for some time now and nothing that moved or breathed was beyond his notice.

His attention was then free to focus on the shift of movement that had coalesced into being out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes flicked over to peer at the new arrival before turning back to look down to where Rin had vanished into the old Records Hall.

"Report."

" _Ame is ours. I have destroyed Hanzo and soon all remnants of his forces will be either taken care of, or brought on side."_

Naruto nodded as the shadowed silhouette stepped out of the shadows of a half collapsed wall to walk around the seated Uzumaki, multi-ringed purple eyes glowing a soft light. The apparition was silent, choosing to watch him a moment before clearing his throat.

" _Konan has expressed concern regarding our supplies since your last visit._ " The figure continued. " _Ever since...ever since she was kidnapped and, Yahiko died, we have been bleeding manpower and resources._ "

Naruto breathed out a long, drawn out breath before finally turning his head to look at the shadow. Seeing the spiked out hair that most definitely was not natural to his cousin. "I see you have begun work on your paths. How is your real body Nagato?"

" _Konan is assisting me in physical therapy, but it is doubtful I will ever return to full mobility._ " Came the reply.

"I see." Naruto paused a moment before lowering the stone in his right hand and slipping it into his pocket unnoticed. "I am sorry for your loss Nagato. I hope you know that had I caught wind of Hanzo's plan I would have been there to help you. You should have never been forced into that position as you were."

Nagato's form stiffened noticeably before shoulders slumped and he nodded. " _I do. We were all caught by surprise. That_ _the Salamander had reached out to the War Hawk of Konoha for an alliance was unexpected. No-one could have anticipated the move._ "

"I assume you heard of Kiri's recent attempt against Konoha?"

Nagato nodded silently, such intel had indeed come to his knowledge, the relocation of an asset on the scale of a Biju was not something easily concealed. It angered him on some level to learn that a Jinchuriki could and had been weaponized to such a level.

"I rescued the Jinchuriki involved." Naruto disclosed. "The seal was shoddy work and no doubt would have failed long before she could have even gotten close to Konoha, but I have been able to stabilise it. She is recovering nicely from her injuries."

" _The information I received was that the girl was killed by her own people._ "

"No, she explained to me that she was unable to take her own life for some reason and so was forced to throw herself into the line of fire." Naruto refuted with a shake of his head, eyes narrowing dangerously. "When I was told this I looked into the matter and discovered the shredded remnants of a cursed seal on her heart. There wasn't enough to deduce its purpose, but given her experiences I can assume it was designed to prevent her from committing suicide."

" _A contingency by Kiri to ensure she made it back to Konoha even if the Biju was discovered?_ " Nagato theorised.

Naruto clicked his tongue before shrugging absently. "Perhaps."

" _And what is it you intend to do with this girl? Such a tool would make a powerful weapon for your plans._ "

Naruto clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes threateningly at his kinsman, a roll of thunder tearing across the sky as his chakra pulsed, momentarily disrupting the shadowed form of Nagato. "I am not so weak as to lower myself to such cruelty Nagato. Nor will I allow you to consider her as such."

Rinnegan eyes blinked slowly before the image nodded. " _Good. Forgive me, but I am still unused to the seeing compassion. Ame has not been kind if you recall._ "

The tense atmosphere lightened and the survivor of Uzu nodded in understanding. "I remember."

XxxX

( _Flashback no jutsu!_ )

 _It was a clear indicator for Naruto when he crossed the border into the Land of Storms from River. The heavy cloud cover that gave the land its name being a clear indicator for the Uzumaki. He could understand why the resident Hidden Village of this land was named as Amegakure, he could already see the wall of rain in the distance where the cloud cover had opened up._

 _The Second Shinobi War had ended almost four years ago now and from what he had heard while in the Land of Rivers, despite reports of continued fighting, the combatants of the war had long since pulled out of the region._

 _Truly the Land of Storms was as hostile as he had heard, even when not within the grips of war._

 _For the Uzumaki he had grown up hearing stories about how conflict and strife was a near constant presence surrounding the region of Amegakure, warlords and tyrants always popping up vying for power and position._

 _It had always been his intention to come to this place, ever since he had found his Destiny in the Land of Ancestors and started on that path in the Land of Bears._

 _This land was in need of renewal. The war was over, he would stop the fighting._

 _XxxX_

 _It took a few days to reach the borders of Ame itself. The rain had hit him the previous day, washing over his body comfortingly soaking through his white outfit. Since leaving Uzu he had abandoned his jounin uniform and Uzu headband, Instead taking to wearing white jacket with black lining and that came down to his knees with an upturned collar and Hakama pants and black sash with black tabi (socks) and white zori (sandals),_

 _He had run into bandits still picking at villages and traders in the wake of the war and more than a few rogue shinobi that had taken to occupying the Land of Storms. They died before they could even notice his presence. They stood within his domain, he saw them with every drop and ended them just as swiftly._

 _They were bottom feeders. Trash that had been too weak to amount to anything when they were loyal to a village and had taken to bringing death and suffering to those beneath them. They were just more proof as to the necessity of the path he had set him self upon, just as the people of Storm were the better for their death, so too would everywhere else be as grateful._

 _When he too could take his rest._

 _Naruto's eyes narrowed suddenly when he felt it far off to the right. A presence within the rain. Three individuals had emerged, notable chakra levels, elevated and active. They were moving at speed._

 _Wait. A fourth._

 _Naruto turned to face the direction of the disturbance. This one he knew._

 _He had felt it, seen it almost a decade previous when he had last passed through these lands during the days of the Second Shinobi War. He had been one of the strongest ninja he had ever seen, not since he had glimpsed the opening salvo of the battle at Uzu between the Uzukage and the Mizukage, Tsukikage and Raikage during the siege._

 _It had been the day he had first caught glimpse of the true form his future was to take, seen the crystallised miracle around her neck._

 _It would seem that while the vaunted 'Sannin' had returned to their slice of heaven, Hanzo the Salamander still ruled here in hell._

 _Naruto took of in a blur of white and red, leaving barely a ripple of water behind to tell tale of his presence as he he made for Hanzo's location._

 _Hanzo was a blight upon Amegakure as well as the Land of Storms. With him in power over Ame, the whole nation as a whole suffered. He was the head of the snake to this particular cancer._

 _But most of all, according to his own understanding, since the conclusion of the Second Shinobi War, Hanzo never went out into the open alone. And from what he could sense regarding the three lesser Chakra's Hanzo was in pursuit of, they were most certainly NOT his allies._

 _It took but a moment, to close the gap between himself and the hunting Salamander. The trio he was chasing were loosing steam and true to expectation of the sadistic Ame-nin, he was slowing down accordingly to further enjoy the chase._

 _When Naruto saw the three the man was pursuing, his blood boiled._

 _Children. The bastard was hunting children!_

 _Barely older than so many of the children he had seen cut down like animals the day Uzu felt, innocent and defenceless. And this bastard was hunting them!?_

 _The pursuing Salamander faltered in his chase and the three mice he had found screamed out in fear when the sky split open and a pillar of light and sound screamed to the earth. It shattered the earth several feet in front of him before his prey and sent chunks of rock and earth flying._

 _It was as the debris fell to back to earth that he took notice of the rain itself. What had previously been a steady deluge, nothing out of the ordinary for Ame itself, was now a veritable storm of heavy, pelting rain that filled his ears with its howl._

 _Flashes of white blanketed the sky as the roar of thunder drowned out the fear laden cries of the children that had harried his steps for the past few months._

 _Another explosion of lightning burst forth close to him, singing the hairs on his head and blinding him from its light, causing Hanzo to flinch back a step._

 _It was when his sight cleared that he noticed it. Noticed him._

 _Clad in white, red hair the color of blood. Purple eyes that held nothing but the promise of death within them, despite himself, despite his confidence in his own power and assurance in his victory, he took another step back._

 _And the rain stopped._

 _Everything. Stopped._

 _It was like someone had taken a freeze frame picture of the landscape, and super imposed it over reality. Every drop of water that had been released from the heavens hung in the air, suspended seemingly in time and space itself._

" _Who are you?" Hanzo rasped, his voice rough through the re-breather strapped to his face. "What manner of Jutsu is this?"_

 _The red head uttered only one word. "Naruto."_

 _Hanzo narrowed his eyes, glancing at the surrounding droplets of water warily. The kind of control and chakra required for such a feat was impossible, beyond insane. There was not a ninja alive capable of such a feat. Not since…_

" _Uzumaki."_

 _Naruto nodded once in response, half turning his head to glance back to the three children huddled together several feet behind him. Orange haired boy, blue haired girl, red haired boy._

 _Naruto's eyes widened a fraction. Red hair. With the exception of himself he had not seen that shade of red hair since the siege. He had tried to find kin after leaving, but apart from Konoha, where he knew at least one safely resided, he had failed._

 _Could it be he had finally found another surviving Uzumaki?_

 _Not now. Such thoughts were for later, more pressing matters required his attention._

" _You are Hanzo the Salamander, defacto ruler of Amegakure no Sato." Naruto declared, pulling hands out of his pockets as he tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck loudly._

" _What of it kid?" Hanzo growled, reaching to draw out his Kusarigama slowly. "Do yourself a favor, walk away."_

 _In response Naruto simply held up a single hand, forming a handseal. " **Suiton:** **Ekitai** **Hari (Water Style:** **Liquid** **Needle).** "_

 _Hanzo barely managed to avoid it as the floating drops of water suddenly shot towards him, lengthening and sharpening into thin senbon like spikes. He vanished in a Shunshin (body flicker) to reappear several feet to the side and twitched as he reached up to swipe a finger across his brow, pulling it back to see a smear of blood marking his finger tips._

 _The strange Uzumaki smiled slightly as he lowered his arm back to his side and the remaining rain drops that floated around them fell to the ground, leaving the air clear and rain free._

 _It was the first time for countless years that Hanzo had seen his homeland free of the ever present rainfall._

 _The Salamander tightened his grip on his chain scythe and momentarily lowered his center of gravity before he shot forward._

 _Naruto easily ducked under the leading attack, avoiding the swipe of the Salamander's blade before reaching out with a hand to catch the heavy iron weight attached to the other end of the Kusarigama's chain that Hanzo had snapped at him in its shadow._

 _He pulled on the weight, drawing a length of the chain toward him before grabbing it and hurling the weight at the older ninja's face. Hanzo tilted his head to the side allowing the weight to fly passed harmlessly and Naruto smirked as he flicked his wrist and pulled._

 _Hazno's eyes widened as the weight altered its trajectory and looped back around to wrap around his neck. Naruto pulled on the chain, tightening its hold on Hanzo. The moment it fully tightened on the man's neck however, it went slack as the shinobi himself vanished in a poof of smoke a charred shard of stone left in his wake._

 _Dropping the abandoned weapon, Naruto flipped up, narrowly avoiding the searching hands that suddenly thrust up from the ground beneath him. In a single fluid movement, Naruto kicked the still airborne shard of stone down toward the submerged Hanzo just as he hurled the blade of the Kusarigama to the side, pulling on the chain as it embedded itself into the ground to pull himself away._

 _By the time Naruto was back on the ground, Hanzo himself had pulled himself out of the earth and had finished a chain of handseals, chakra flaring._

" _ **Suiton: Mizu Shuriken (Water Style: Water Shuriken).** "_

 _A number of water shuriken were formed from the surrounding water and shot toward Naruto at incredible speed, forcing Naruto to drop the chain still in his grasp and leap to the side, reaching into his side pouch and pulling and throwing a handful of reddish-brown wooden Shuriken._

 _When the strangely crafted Shuriken tore right through the water imitations, Hanzo's eyes widened and he slammed his hands against the ground. " **Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Style: Water Wall).** "_

 _A large wall of water shot up in front of the man, shielding him from the oncoming Shuriken._

 _And when they passed right through the defensive jutsu to impale in his arms and chest, his eyes widened in disbelief, coughing up a splatter of blood through his re-breather._

" _H-how? that's not possible!"_

" _Those Shuriken are made from Mahogany." A cold voice replied from behind him._

 _Hanzo turned quickly, jumping back despite the injury to gain some distance, cursing himself for his mistake. The moment he had placed the defensive wall he had lost his sight of the Uzumaki for a moment, more than long enough for him to relocate himself to his rear._

" _What?"_

 _Naruto allowed a slight smirk to pass over him as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a similarly made Kunai, spinning it around on his finger before grabbing it in a reverse grip. "And not just any Mahogany. But Mahogany from the Islands of Uzushoigakure. Where the trees grow two hundred feet tall and breath fire."_

 _Hanzo remained silent, carefully removing the shuriken and dropping them as he watched the Uzumaki approaching carefully. He had underestimated the boy._

" _Such Shuriken were designed and made specifically to cut through most defensive jutsu of that calibre." Naruto explained._

 _When the last Shuriken was removed Hanzo glared at the offending weapons in thought. At this rate, there was a chance he would need to summon Ibuse, even though things had truly yet to escalate to their full potential, he could see in the young Uzumaki that was both prepared and capable of matching him._

 _A shift of movement out of the corner of his eye was what gave him his idea. A hidden grin passed over the Salamander's face as he saw the huddled forms of the three children he had been hunting. The red hair of the eldest boy. Given the identity of the man that had come for him he was most likely an Uzumaki._

 _He could use this._

" _Uzumaki Naruto. I remember you now." Hanzo began, straightening to look at his white clad opponent. "Stories following the fall of your clan of a survivor they called the Red Death."_

 _Naruto inclined his head in the affirmative._

" _I get it now. you're after the kid, your kinsman." Hanzo indicated to the wide eyed red haired boy with a tilt of his head. "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting an Uzumaki orphan to be crawling around in my territory."_

" _Your point?"_

 _The Salamander grinned savagely. "I'll do you a favor. Not many have the spirit to face me, fewer less have lasted as long as you. I'll let you take those brats and leave in one piece."_

" _Oh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at this, seeming amused by such a proposition. "You speak as if I am the one on the defensive Salamander. I am not some Konoha ninja, nor am I on my knees before you. Why should_ I _let_ you _live?"_

 _At this the man raised a hand to point out to the side, directly at the three huddled children. "Because the first thing I'll do is kill that little Uzumaki."_

 _Naruto stopped. His eyes unwillingly turning to look to the children that he had inadvertently taken into his protection. Even if Hanzo was unaware of the Uzumaki clan doctrine towards family, dammit all if he wasn't hitting a bullseye with his threat._

 _Even with being aware of his future strategy to take out his young cousin, there was guaranteed to be an opportunity that would allow the bastard to slip through and make true on his threat._

" _And if I would rather see you dead at my feet?" Naruto asked, knowing it was futile as there was no way Hanzo had not seen him hesitate._

" _The brat will still be a corpse."_

 _Naruto was silent for a brief moment before his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched tightly._

 _The next instant the sky had reopened and the rain of Ame fell back down to the earth._

 _Hanzo let out an amused laugh when he lost sight of the glowering Uzumaki in a burst of smoke before he turned to see that the three little brats were gone as well. He had to admit, that_ had _been fun._

 _He collected his discarded Kusarigama and coiled it back up before strapping it back to his waist before turning curiously back to where he had dropped those strange Shuriken used against him, maybe he should see about finding more of them._

 _When he saw that they too were gone, he let out another laugh. Oh yes, he was looking forward to seeing that Uzumaki Naruto again._

 _(Flashback no jutsu: Kai!)_

XxxX

"I must confess, I was not expecting to find an Uzumaki when I journeyed to Ame." Naruto admitted as he brought himself out of his reminiscing to look back to the shadowed form of his cousin. "But, hardship and loss aside, I am pleased with the result."

Nagato nodded. " _I agree. Yahiko would not shut up about what you did to make the rain stop in Ame of all places. Even at the end he teased me about how I still couldn't replicate the jutsu to the same scale._ "

Naruto grinned at this. "Rinnegan aside, I am still impressed you picked it up as quickly as you did."

" _Some might consider you foolish to surrender knowledge of such an effective sensory jutsu. Even if it was to family._ " Nagato pointed out.

Naruto simply shrugged as if the risk didn't matter to him. "You are Uzumaki. It was enough for me to give you that knowledge, just as it was enough, and still is enough for me to entrust you with bringing peace to the Land of Storms."

Nagato nodded in understanding. "Y _ou provided our Akatsuki with the provisions and support needed to do more than just hold our own against Hanzo and his faction. You gave use the belief and will that we could succeed._ "

"And you have repaid that trust back several times over Nagato. As did Yahiko." Naruto responded with a respectful nod to the orange haired man's memory. "Now I am sure that you did not come here to walk down memory lane with me did you? The last time Konan caught you slacking off I believe she fed your Ramen to Yahiko."

The shadowed man flinched in the memory of such, evil. It had been shortly after he had finally mastered the _**Ukojizai no jutsu (Rainmaker jutsu)**_ he had decided to take the following day off to recover his chakra and enjoy his success. Konan had found him laying about and had not been impressed.

" _Something has come up in Ame._ " Nagato replied, gracefully moving away from the reminder. " _Konan and I were approached by a masked man a few days back. He had a proposal for us._ "

Naruto raised an eyebrow, saying nothing as he listened to his cousins report.

" _Apparently he had heard of our victory over Hanzo and come to recruit us, to recruit the Akatsuki. He spoke of peace, of bringing an end to the Hidden villages using my homeland as a platform to wage war upon._ "

"Did he tell you anything else?" Naruto had returned to his throne and sat down, disturbed by the information. Very rarely did advocates of peace come from benign backgrounds.

" _He claimed that by assembling the nine Biju we could put an end to war, that we could unite the world in pain._ "

Naruto straightened in his chair, blank faced for a moment before he slowly turned his head to stare into the Rinnegan of the projected Nagato. "Did he give a name?"

"Uchiha Madara."

Naruto frowned. Such a name had not been heard of for quite some time. Not appearing since records that detailed his rivalry with Senju Hashirama that had finally seen its conclusion at the now named Valley of the End. The man was believed to have died there. An imposter perhaps? No. His goal, while vague or more to the point incomplete, was far too in line with the recorded personality of the Uchiha Patriarch; power above all else.

" _Naruto?_ "

The red head turned back to Nagato, his eyes refocusing quickly. "Return to Ame. This Madara is highly dangerous and is not likely to take refusal lightly. It would be best to leave Ame for a short while, leave a clone or intermediary to deliver the Uchiha your reply."

" _You believe he would attack?_ " Nagato asked.

"I believe that it is best to assume the worst in this situation." Naruto replied calmly. "If this is truly the Madara of legend, then he will not suffer the disrespect no matter how imagined. And if it is not, then this imposter most likely has the strength to back up the claim."

Nagato nodded in understanding. Konan had warned as much when he had deliberated his own response before deciding himself to refuse. In another life he would have agreed that peace through pain would have been a logical and sure-fire method that would succeed. But having been taught by Jiraiya-sensei and learning of his cousin Naruto's ideals and drive, he knew better.

" _Understood. We will be out of touch for some time, I will contact you once we have returned to Ame after this has all passed us by._ " Nagato responded, turning and walking away a few steps before stopping and looking back to the seated Uzumaki. " _You never answered my question._ "

"Hm?"

The Rinnegan wielder gestured down to the city of Uzu. " _The girl, the Jinchuriki. What is it you intend to do with her?_ "

Naruto was quiet for a moment before he leaned back in his throne, idly tapping a finger against the armrest. "When she is fully recovered and should she wish it, I will take her home. She has no part in this."

" _And should she wish to stay?_ "

At this Naruto turned to look back to the fading silhouette with a fierce expression. "Then I will raise her up so high she will never fall again."

The vanishing shadow said nothing as it fully vanished, just nodding in reply before it was gone leaving the sole remaining Uzumaki of Uzu to his thoughts.

There was silence there, atop the ruin of the Uzukage tower save the distant rumblings the ever present storm that surrounded the island chain of Uzu and when Naruto turned his head to the side he leaned back comfortably.

"I know you're there. You can come out now."

"Rin."

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N**

 **Alright people, here is chapter two (technically three but meh). Things are coming along I hope that this gets the stamp of approval and hooks you in enough to continue reading.**

 **I have noticed that while a lot of people are following and favoriting no one is reviewing this story. I don't mean to beg, but I kind of need the reviews to know whether or not this is actually working. Reviews kind of equal a good story after all.**

 **Give me feedback, let me know that i'm doing good. Let me know that I'm doing crappy.**

 **In the words of Trunks from TFS: NOTICE ME!**

 **Will hopefully have more for you in the coming week, depending on how many reviews there are thus far. With so little it might get tossed onto the back burner.**

 **Enjoy.**


	4. Ideal Beginnings

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **XxxX**

( _Previously_ )

 _There was silence there, atop the ruin of the Uzukage tower save the distant rumblings the ever present storm that surrounded the island chain of Uzu and when Naruto turned his head to the side he leaned back comfortably._

" _I know you're there. You can come out now."_

" _Rin."_

XxxX

The brown haired girl in question stepped out into view, having been concealed behind a collapsed wall to approach the seated Uzumaki, hands clasped together nervously and an embarrassed blush on her face.

"I-I didn't mean to listen in," She spoke up, looking down to avoid his eyes. "I thought something was wrong and came to see if you were okay."

Naruto didn't reply, just looking at her, waiting on her to continue.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop when I saw you had company but I couldn't help it." Rin continued to explain quietly. "I'm sorry."

When her host didn't respond to her apology she hesitantly looked up, half expecting to see him glaring at her in outrage. Instead she just saw him giving that same quiet smile that he always seemed to have for her, the kind of smile that once more reminded her of Kushina-sensei whenever she came for a visit. Warm and caring.

"It's fine Rin." Naruto finally spoke, dismissing the issue with a wave of his hand. "Had there been anything I didn't want you to hear I would have called you out when you arrived."

Rin wasn't surprised. Even as an illusion she had been able to get a feel on the level of strength and power Naruto-san's guest had possessed and for such a man to seemingly be a subordinate to her host, then Uzumaki Naruto would have little issue in detecting her, a Chunnin level Kunoichi, approach.

"Y-you aren't angry?"

Naruto shrugged. "There is nothing wrong with curiosity, simply remember that at times to temper your curiosity with restraint."

Rin nodded in understanding and relaxed, allowing the nerves to leave her body and walk closer to the seated man. "Um, what kind of jutsu was that? And who was that man?"

"Well the man was Uzumaki Nagato, an orphaned clan member I found in Ame during my travels. His family left Uzu before the siege and settled there. As for the jutsu he used to communicate with me, let's just say he is quite gifted for now yes?"

Rin nodded slowly in understanding, assuming the reason to be in the realm of clan secrets. Having grown up in Konoha the issue had come up before, especially when she had asked Obito where he learned the fire jutsu that he knew. She frowned soon after in thought as she reflected back on the conversation she had heard, disturbed by and curious by different points.

"What happened to his parents?" Rin asked, recalling what Naruto had said about Nagato being an orphan but having mentioned his family n its entirety having lived in Ame.

"I am afraid they were murdered during the Second Shinobi War, by a group of Konoha Shinobi who were looting their home. Nagato barely survived."

Rin gasped in horror, almost unable to believe that her village was responsible for such a thing. It was the kind of act she had would expect of Iwa or Kumo based on the stories she had heard while at the academy and also while a part of Minato-sensei's team. But, she had to remind herself, cruelty and evil wasn't restrictive to one side, just because she believed herself to be a good person did not necessary apply to all others who wore the Konoha headband.

It was sad to hear such a thing, but she could not help but believe it. She had already found evidence herself that brought to light lies and secrets that her own village had spread and kept in regards to their 'ally' Uzu; the destruction of the village itself being a big one, but even before that according to Uzu trade records and military agreements Uzu was expected to maintain an Uzumaki presence within Konoha itself just as Konoha would provide a Senju representative in Uzu. And as Rin had gone through the villages records detailing the interactions and even the records that detailed Kushina-sensei when she had been sent to Konoha, there had been no return notice detailing the individual that Konoha had sent back.

It had been disturbing to consider that her home village had used the destruction of what was supposed to be a close ally just to war. It made her question as to whether or not Konoha had been just as complicit in the first war as well as the one that was under-way even now.

There had also been another issue that she had been wrestling with over the past few days ever since she had been released from bed rest. She was a Jinchuriki now, would the Hokage use her just like other villages had taken to using their own Jinchuriki?

"Is something the matter?"

Rin jumped in surprise, having been lost in her own thoughts so deeply, at the sound of Naruto's voice. She turned to see him leaning forward in his stone throne, an expression of concern present there as he focused on her completely.

"Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought." She blushed.

Naruto merely cocked an eyebrow in curiosity, not saying anything so as to allow her time to collect herself.

"I had a question, a-about what you and Nagato-san talked about." Rin approached hesitantly, trying to steel herself for what potentially lay at the end of the conversation. "W-when he asked what you planned to do with me, did you really mean it that you would take me home if I asked?"

Something passed over Naruto's face when she finished speaking, something that gave Rin pause as she wondered if she had imagined it or not. "You wish for me to take you home? Now or when you have fully recovered?"

Rin bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. "C-can I stay here instead?"

"Sorry?"

The brunette Kunoichi swallowed before steeling her resolve. "Can I stay here, instead of going back to Konoha."

Naruto raised an eyebrow curiously, looking at her with a measure of interest. "And why would you not want to return home? Don't you have family and friends to return to?"

"I'm an orphan, no real family to speak of but I do have a few friends back home at Konoha." She admitted with a nod. "But I'm worried about going back. Since waking up here I've found out about the lies Konoha has been spreading and teaching us at school. And with me now being a Jinchuriki, I'm scared."

"That they will make you into a weapon." Naruto stated, not even bothering to pose it as a question as if he knew with certainty that it was the fate ahead of her with the Sanbi within her.

Rin nodded sullenly.

"And if I were to train you, to make you strong like I said I would. What would you do then?" Naruto asked neutrally. "Return to Konoha, to your life with the skills to be able to hide away what you have been turned into?"

Rin couldn't reply. She didn't know. On the one hand that path was most definitely an option. If she were trained enough, it would not be all that difficult in theory to conceal the fact that she was a Jinchuriki of the Sanbi. But on the other hand, doing that; using Naruto-san like that, it felt wrong. He had already done so much, saved her life. Could she really just take his good will and support so selfishly like that?

"Let me ask you a question Rin." Naruto spoke, drawing her attention back to him. "What is the purpose of power? Do we grow strong simply to be strong? Seek power to right wrongs? Or is there another reason? Something else that drives us to better ourselves?"

Rin didn't answer. She couldn't answer. It had never really been something that she had spent any time considering, the concept and idea behind power. Her time at the academy, learning under Minato-sensei and even out in the field she had been considered a decent enough support and medic-nin. The idea of power and herself together never really seemed to fit together.

"W-what do you believe Naruto-san?"

The red head smiled at her before gesturing for her to come closer. When she did he gently grasped her by the shoulders and turned so that she was facing toward the ruin that was Uzu. "There are two kinds of power in the world. The power to destroy and the power to create." He gestured to the village. "You have seen for yourself what the power to destroy is capable of. It ends families and starts wars. What do I believe? I believe in the power to create. To end wars and save families."

"I-is it possible to find that power? The power to create?" Rin asked tentatively, finding the appeal of such a strength. The very thought of the power of destruction, to destroy and cause suffering, it was abhorrent to her.

"Not from a Hidden Village."

XxxX

Rin panted heavily, wincing as she felt the pressure on her lungs from where several of her ribs were broken and doing her best to ignore the notable amount of blood that was pouring from a large gash along the side of her face. Instead she glared across the open field to the seemingly untouchable and impossible figure that was Uzumaki Naruto; the red haired man just standing there staring back at her with an impassive expression, hands in his pockets as if she had caught him out for a stroll.

Were it not for the incredible progress she had made in the short few months since he had taken her on as a student she would have regretted asking to stay. The Uzumaki was a brutal task-master. He demanded excellence and punished the slightest misstep harshly.

"Is that all Rin?" Naruto called out from his position. "Is that all your resolve can do?"

In response Rin growled in frustration before forcing her breathing back to its normal rhythm, focusing what medical Chakra she had built up in her system to circulate through her chest and pull her ribs back together, not quite repairing them, but at least preventing them from puncturing a lung.

With that, the thirteen year old threw down a smoke bomb and vanished from his sight. When the smoke cleared, she was gone from the field, leaving only Naruto standing there with an expression of amusement on his face.

" **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no jutsu (Earth Style: Headhunter jutsu).** "

A pair of hands thrust out from the ground beneath Naruto's feet, grabbing them tightly before he was pulled down, buried within the earth up to his neck. The man didn't even resist as he found himself trapped, only smiling as he watched Rin pull herself out of the ground a few feet from him.

"Very good Rin. Using distraction to disrupt line of sight and following with supplementary binding jutsu." Naruto complimented with a nod of his head, seemingly not at all concerned that he was for all appearances completely exposed and vulnerable. "However..."

The smirking head burst apart in a splash of water, revealing him to be just as **Mizu Bunshin** _._

Rin gasped out in pain when a blade found itself in her lower back and Naruto's face came into view from the corner of her eye as he leaned over her shoulder. "You must always anticipate that your opponent has not already expected and planned for your moves."

Rin spat out a mouthful of blood as she shakily turned her head to look at her sensei, before smiling. "I did."

Naruto's eyes widened when the girl vanished in a puff of smoke and he found himself holding a log covered in sizzling explosive tags.

A moment later they went off in a massive explosion of fire and debris, carving out a sizable crater in the middle of the training field. It was to the far end of the field, that Rin stepped back out into view, walking out from behind a large tree, kunai in one hand with her other already forming a concentration seal to ready her Chakra.

When the smoke cleared, Rin saw an otherwise empty clearing, no sign of her sensei; injured or not.

Immediately she relocated, jumping up into the trees and circling around to the other side, creating a **Kage Bunshin** of her own to land back on the ground while she moved two trees further in.

she was sorting through her supply pouch at her back, considering the option of laying a trap to lure her sensei in when her head snapped up, the image of a spear of water impaling through her chest passing through her mind as her _Bunshin_ was destroyed.

A moment later and there was a kunai resting against her neck as Naruto's form seemed to melt out from the tree she was standing upon.

"I believe this is my win Rin." Naruto commented lightly as he tapped the flat of the knife against her throat for emphasis. "An interesting tactic and strategy I will confess, but instead of allowing me time to recover you should have followed through with another attack."

Rin swallowed before nodding slowly, careful of the blade against her throat before it was removed. A hand on her shoulder and the two were suddenly back down to ground level a few feet from the crater she had made, the Uzumaki already in the annoying process of messing up her hair with a hand as he smiled widely.

"That most definitely was an impressive show of forethought with the ready made trap that you replaced yourself. So all in all I would say that this was a successful session." The man praised, beaming at his student proudly.

Rin blushed at the compliment. While as a student under Minato she did at times have the Jounin-sensei compliment and praise her for abilities and progress shown in training. It had always felt more analytical and a courtesy. Whenever Naruto-sensei did the same, it made her feel as if everything she did was remarkable and meaningful.

"I still didn't manage to get you though Sensei." The girl mumbled quietly, depressed slightly when she came to noticed that his stark white shinobi outfit wasn't even dirtied by the explosion she had thought she had caught him in.

Naruto smiled fondly at her before picking her up and starting back to the village, holding her in a princess carry. "You have learned much from me these passed few months little one. You have learned how to act and more importantly _when_ to act, but I still have much to teach you before you are at such a level."

Rin nodded quietly. It would have been incredibly arrogant to expect to actually be skilled enough to go toe to toe with a man who had not only lived through the Second Shinobi War, but had survived an invasion against three of the five strongest Hidden Villages.

XxxX

It was a few hours later and Rin was back in her quarters that Naruto-sensei had provided for her, injuries tended to and bandaged up. Naruto had eased himself into his customary chair by her bed and was fiddling with the same odd looking amber colored stone she had spotted him with at times when he didn't know she was looking.

"What is that sensei?" She asked, finally allowing her own curiosity to get the better of her as she eyed the gem.

Naruto blinked and looked up at her, silent for a moment longer before looking back down to consider the stone thoughtfully. "Proof."

"Proof of what?"

Naruto didn't answer, instead slipping the stone back into his pocket before rubbing his hands together as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he peered to her intently, as if examining her entire self worth. Rin was about to apologise, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze; as if she had stepped into a private and sensitive topic when he let out a long drawn breath.

"Proof that my dream to bring an end to war and suffering is possible." Naruto explained softly as he looked at his hands, releasing Rin from his stare. "I was never so foolish as to believe in the possibility of peace. Not that I oppose such a notion, more that it is too broad and vague a concept. Instead I had hope. Hope for a world without war."

"That hope was shaken when I lost my home and family; when war was forced upon me. I came to know loss and pain. And through that I found the will to act."

"Act how?" Rin found herself asking automatically, drawn in by the sheer level of passion and conviction in his voice.

"Perhaps some day I will share that story with you." Naruto deflected with a shrug. "But I have come to understand that peace through war, understanding and even loss are false, temporary things. Before Uzu was destroyed the Uzukage called me naive and foolish for desiring to change the world with but a snap of my fingers. Now, if I could do such a thing, if I could bring an end to the very source of war and oppression, the very heart of it in such a manner, I would call it mercy."

"But wouldn't that earn you enemies sensei?" Rin asked, wide eyed and in awe of such passion. "I cannot imagine that such an ideal for change would be very popular with certain people."

Naruto chuckled quietly before nodding in agreement. "No you are right there little one. It is true that change hardly finds a welcome reception. And I most assuredly will find myself set apart from those that would see me fail. But that which is right is never easy. Some may consider me a monster, but far more will sigh with relief when all is said and done."

Rin opened her mouth and went to speak further when Naruto raised a hand, forestalling any further discussion.

"Rest now. We can talk on this further if you wish at another time." Naruto urged, rising to his feet to approach her bed and gently push her down into her pillows, raising her blanket to cover her warmly.

The young girl didn't resist the action, nor deny the caring she felt from the simple gesture before he straightened and made to leave the room.

"Rest well Rin." Naruto commented as he opened to door to leave. "We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

XxxX

Rin opened her eyes to a field of darkness. She couldn't remember how she got here, or even where 'here' even was.

It was an eerie quiet that was almost as all consuming as the open, inky blackness that surrounded her, yet despite it all, Rin felt no fear, no concern for her own safety. In fact she felt perfectly at ease in this place.

" **You have finally come then?** "

Rin spun around quickly, eyes wide with alarm at the resounding voice that echoed loudly behind her. What she saw had her pale before taking several steps back in fright.

A giant Turtle, far larger than any summon she had ever seen before dominated the void before her. With a heavy, spiked crab-like shell of bluish-grey and three shrimp-like tails stretched out behind it and a single open red and yellow eye half concealed beneath a heavily spiked forehead and lower jaw.

"T-the Sanbi!"

If any offence had been taken, the Biju didn't show it as the beast stared down at her from its imposing height. The rumble of its breathing causing slight tremors in the ground at her feet.

" **That is what you humans have taken to calling me yes.** " The Sanbi acknowledged with a slow nod. " **But that is not my name.** "

Rin gaped in shock. Astonished to hear what she had believed to be a savage and demonic beast actually talking with her. Even in her history lessons when the academy sensei had covered the tailed beasts when the Shodai had gifted them to different villages to promote peace there had never been any mention that they had any level of sentience, choosing instead to label them as simply powerful constructs of wild Chakra.

" **I was upset that it took you so long to visit me. When the Uzumaki fixed ou** **r** **seal that allows you to host me within you I thought you would have come, but you never did.** " The Sanbi continued, sounding largely indifferent but carrying within it a sense of hurt?

"Um, sorry?" Rin managed to get out. "It's been a bit of a crazy time recently, I never really thought about this kind of things."

Again the Sanbi nodded ponderously. " **Yes. Training at the feet of the Uzumaki. It has been some time since I last felt a human with that level of power.** **You will become quite powerful under his tutelage. However...** **"**

Rin frowned in curiosity, looking up at the Biju in interest. What was it implying? Was there something wrong with what Naruto-sensei was teaching her? Was perhaps she the problem and the Sanbi just felt she would never quite measure up to the potential both her sensei and this demon wanted?

" **You are not a normal ninja anymore.** " The turtle-like Biju reminded. " **You are a Jinchuriki, MY Jinchuriki. There are things that your Uzumaki cannot teach you. But I can.** "

Rin narrowed her eyes dangerously, feeling a bout of anger rise within her from the slight that the Sanbi had laid against her sensei. So what if he wasn't a Jinchuriki and therefore wouldn't know exactly how teach her that specific skill-set. He was still a league better than anything she could have hoped for and already brought her up so much further than she could have had she returned home to Konoha.

" **Do not mistake me.** " The Sanbi boomed, sensing the growing rage within its host. " **I offer no insult to the Uzumaki,** **but it is an undeniable truth that even the Uzumaki himself would agree with.** "

Rin nodded sliffly, swallowing the desire to come to her sensei's defence. The Sanbi had a point more or less. Naruto-sensei could not teach her something he himself did not know. But then that did raise the question.

"Why would you teach me, help me learn to use your power?"

The Sanbi's body shifted slightly as if somehow pulling of a shrug. " **What your Uzumaki said to you interests me. I am curious to see how far he will take things. I would teach you to use my powers so I can see the extent to his resolve.** "

Rin said nothing, narrowing her eyes as she looked up at the Biju, trying to determine whether or not he was lying or perhaps even trying to manipulate her for some kind of malicious reason. Finally the teenager simply hung her head, letting out a steadying breath before she raised her head once more to stare right into the Sanbi's giant eye.

"Deal."

The giant beast nodded in satisfaction. " **Good. Now first thing to remember. My name...** "

" **Call me Isobu.** "

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N**

Right so here is the latest chapter. Things are coming along I guess, still trying to take my time with fleshing things out for Naruto before we actually reach canon and _then_ screw it up beyond all recognition.

Once again asking for reviews. Seeing a lot of favorites and follows but not that many reviews. Kind of need them as it seems to be that reviews kind of validate whether a story is good or not for a lot of people.

Plus it would be nice to get this into that 1000+ reviews community to join my other one.

So, yeah, review. Let me know that you like what i'm writing, or even point out some stuff that I missed or screwed up. I accept constructive criticism (flamers not so but there is a fine line between the two really).

Give me love so I may give love in return.

And remember: "Balance in all things." :D


	5. The Will of No-one

**Author's Note:**

 **READ ME!**

 **Alright before this Chapter kickes off, I need to address something. As far as I can tell with timeline's for the Naruto universe, there was only a single year between Rin and Obito's 'death' and the events of the Kyubi attack at Konoha.**

 **I find it unlikely that in the time-frame of a single year Obito was able to go from an average Chunnin level ninja to being able to go toe to toe with Minato. Regardless of what Madara taught him; the old man was pretty much an invalid and he only had the Zetsu to train him.**

 **So for the sake of this I have increased the gap between Rin's 'death' and the Kyubi attack to two years instead.**

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

 **XxxX**

( _Previously_ )

" _Deal."_

 _The giant beast nodded in satisfaction. " **Good. Now first thing to remember. My name...** "_

" _ **Call me Isobu.** "_

XxxX

Two Years Later.

Naruto pulled at the tan cloak that covered his form, lowering the cowl further over his face that was close to being pulled off of his face from the strong winds of the sandstorm he was making his way through.

He had been walking through the territory of Sunagakure for two days now, having left Uzu a week ago after giving Rin a final test having completed her training.

He would have accompanied her or at the very least watched over the young woman as she underwent her test to determine with his own eyes how capable and loyal she was, but circumstances had progressed to a point that made him unable to indulge in such actions.

He had received word that one of the things he had been searching for, one of the sources that lay at the heart of his Destiny had finally been located and while this 'source' and its location were completely isolated and unknown to the world at large, Naruto was not willing to leave such a thing to chance and run the risk of this vital part of his goal being taken from him by another.

Which was why he hadn't stopped for shelter when the sandstorm had hit him.

The red head felt the shift of movement at his neck as a white, furred head popped out from within the confines of his cloak, long ears brushing against the side of his face as red eyes and a twitching nose shifted toward him.

"This weather is abysmal Naruto-dono. Can we not simply wait this out?" The small rabbit voiced in a feminine squeak, shifting its head again to shy away from the stinging sand.

Naruto reached up again to pull at his cloak, offering some form of shielding for the rabbit as he continued to soldier through the powerful storm. "I will not disagree that it would be a good idea at this point, but we cannot afford the delay. Humanity has a knack for finding itself where it should not be at the most inopportune times."

The Rabbit huffed in annoyance before nodding slightly in agreement, pulling back slightly to the shelter of the Uzumaki's cloak. "Perhaps. But it does not change the fact that I hate this weather. I should have left this task to one of the maidens."

Naruto flashed a brief smile as he slid down the side of a particularly large dune, ever advancing.

"You are not one to shirk such responsibility Mikoto." The man commented. "You are the _Mitsue-shiro*_ of your clan after all and you would not pass on such responsibility to another, not even the current _Naishoten*;_ your daughter."

The Leader of the Rabbit Clan glowered briefly up at her summoner before nodding reluctantly in agreement. "So you keep reminding me every time I have to come along with you on your adventures."

Naruto laughed softly, reaching up to gently scratch the _Mitsue-shiro_ behind an ear, as he peered through the wall of sand and dirt the storm had kicked up, to a distant mountain range; his destination. "You didn't seem to mind when we journeyed to the Moon Palace."

Mikoto huffed. "Well that was different. First there was no desert involved and second I was curious to see how time had treated my Lady's home."

Naruto didn't say anything in response, instead nodding in agreement. For him personally; whom had never had any previous connection to the time or people connected to the Moon Palace it had been an awe inspiring sight to bear witness to. To walk through history and legend itself.

With nothing more to say on the matter, Mikoto retreated fully back into shelter by Naruto's neck, settling on his shoulder comfortably. This left the man himself to continue his journey in peace, moving through the storm; an unstoppable force moving ever forwards.

XxxX

Two days later saw Naruto finally reach his destination. The ruins of an ancient civilisation, forgotten by history and delegated to the ranks of myth and legend. The sandstorm had mercifully abated a day and a half ago much to Mikoto's pleasure and there had been no issue avoiding the rare patrol of Suna Shinobi that monitored the borders to their lands.

The location he had found was thankfully isolated from the Land of Wind at large, concealed along the coast behind a chain of mountains from the rest of the mainland. The eroded and collapsed structures that once made up a grand temple and its associated grounds lay half buried in sand and overgrowth which made it undetectable to any passing ships that sailed along the coastline itself.

It had taken Mikoto and her kin several years to track down this site. Sifting through decades worth of documented records and collected evidence that had been left to wash away at the Moon Palace against the river of time.

Naruto had since removed his cloak, revealing the black body suit and overlaying plates of darkened gold armored plates matching the kind of armor worn during the Warring Clan era. In addition to the armor with his iconic red hair covered by a black Shozoku mask and his face further concealed behind a porcelain ANBU mask depicting the visage of a bear.

Mikoto had left his shoulder to explore the ruins; explaining that she was searching for a point that would allow her to get the bearings of the positioning and orientation of the ruin to properly locate exactly what they were searching for.

While the Rabbit summon was doing this, Naruto was making himself useful by excavating as much as he could from the ruins, displacing and removing several tons of sand with the application of Wind type Chakra to expose the masonry beneath. Already with passing glances he could see half worn depictions that bore validity to the importance of this location; gatherings of people prostrated before a large tree, a half destroyed mural of a transcendent woman with long hair and two rabbit-like horns atop her head.

Naruto moved on, heading further into the Temple grounds toward where Mikoto had positioned herself at what appeared to have once been the site for the main Temple building itself. A careful blast of Wind Chakra saw the prevailing sand relocated, clearing the location and allowing the white rabbit to hop around the floor, peering at specific spots carefully for a moment before moving on.

The Uzumaki simply stood there silently, watching her work. He had no basis of what they were looking for, no idea of what the site had once looked like in its glory days unlike the _Mitsue-shiro_ whom had once hopped these grounds.

Mikoto may have been unable to locate the Temple in the world at large, having only been summoned to it by her Lady, but she had spent enough time there to be familiar with what it had once been.

"I think I have an idea of it's location Naruto-dono." Mikoto finally spoke up, jumping up to land on a wall and looking out beyond the Temple grounds. "It looks like what we are here for has been buried underground, you can see it, that hill to the south."

Naruto hopped up to join the rabbit on the wall to peer out in the specified direction, spying a solitary hill that was positioned a few hundred feet from what would most likely have once been the Temple walls.

He clicked his tongue thoughtfully as he estimated the dimensions of the landscape that concealed his target, running various scenario's and methods of removing such a sizable chunk of earth. "How sturdy would you say our target? After all this time of rot and decay?"

Mikoto scoffed. "After so much time it has most likely completely petrified, even so it would be quite an achievement for even you to destroy it beyond usability."

Naruto smothered a smile at the Rabbit elder's scorn towards human implementation of Ninjutsu. Mikoto had never really bothered to hide her disdain for how humanity had taken to using and abusing the gift of Chakra. It was only the fact that she ad a great deal of respect towards him that she even tolerated his own use of it.

Sensing that he was preparing to move out, Mikoto leapt up to land on his shoulder, anchoring herself down just in time as the Uzumaki crouched down and took off, clearing the gap between the Temple an its furthest wall.

"Of course I need not ask if you remembered to bring _it_ right?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the condescending remark from the Rabbit. It seemed she had finally chosen to get back at him for 'forcing' her to endure that sandstorm. She of course already knew that _it_ never left his person. Not since he had finally been able to create it three years ago.

Soon enough Naruto was standing before the foot of the hill in question, staring as it loomed before him at a height of at least hundred feet. Already he could sense the leftover power that lay dormant and forgotten deep within the heart of the mound.

Focusing intently, Naruto flared his Chakra, taking the briefest of moments to send a current across his body to shut down a sealing array that marked his body. With the seal no longer limiting him, Naruto's Chakra practically exploded outward into a massive visible aura, almost dislodging Mikoto from his shoulder. An instant later the aura vanished as the Chakra was focused and channelled deep within the pit of his stomach into a single spot, causing his stomach to bulge out slightly from its presence.

" **Suiton: Bakusui Shoha (Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave.)** "

A single hand sign unleashed hell.

Naruto's mouth opened and from it a massive torrent of highly focused and pressurised water spewed out, quickly forming itself into a colossal tidal wave about half the size of the hill. It crashed into its side with all the force of a rampaging Boss Summon, tearing into the earth with a powerful eruption and shattering at least two thirds of the hill, sending massive chunks of earth flying, crashing down heavily in the distance and causing the ground beneath Naruto's feet to shake slightly from the tremors of impact.

Naruto grinned at what was revealed before him. As the water settled and drained away, the true prize lay before him.

"The Shinju."

The once legendary Tree of the World was nothing more than a petrified stump now. Its once glorious form having rotted away till there was nothing more than its bare roots and but the tiniest hint of a trunk.

Mikoto had left his shoulder and quickly made her way up to the ancient tree itself, examining it closely from different points. By the time she was finished, Naruto had already climbed the remnants of the hill to its roots and was resting a hand against its bark, shivering as he felt his own Chakra reacting to its very origin.

"The Shinju is still viable Naruto-dono." Mikoto reported, returning to his shoulder as the Uzumaki retracted his hand. "You will of course require the tree in its entirety to succeed."

Naruto nodded in understanding as he reached into his pocket and pulled out _the stone._

The amber colored stone had since been mounted to a ring for this very purpose, its surface glinting seemingly with a power of its own as he slipped it onto his index finger.

"So that's it huh?" Mikoto commented as she looked down from her perch on his shoulder to peer at the gem. "Your prized Sealing Stone."

Naruto nodded fondly, running his thumb across its surface softly. "Yes. The entire sacrifice of the Uzumaki Clan exists within this miracle. Crystallised from the remains of my fallen clan-members, it took me years of research and experimentation to develop the original sealing array to create it. The hopes, dreams and power of the Uzumaki Clan given form. Through this; what would take years can be done in but a few short hours."

Mikoto said nothing, choosing instead to watch respectfully as the human she regarded highly stepped up to the roots of the Tree of the World and pressed his hand against it. There was no clear activation command or phrase that initiated the process, just a tightening of Naruto's eyes and a bright flash of light as a chain of sealing scriptures spread out from his hand, creating a wide array that to any other would have taken days if not months to replicate correctly.

There was no obvious change or effect as the fabricated seal activated at first. It took a few minutes before the earth covering some parts of the Shinju's roots started to shake and shift. The tree was shrinking.

The process took several hours. During which the once great remnant of the Shinju continued to shrink in on itself before pulling in toward a single spot in the middle of Naruto's palm. Throughout the entire process Naruto was resolute, statuesque as he continued his work. Toward the latter half his arms and legs had begun to shake; fatigue sinking in and his Chakra network straining from the stress of such a highly focused and prolonged sealing ritual.

By the time his work was done the sun had already long since set, the light of the stars and moon illuminating the masked Uzumaki as he breathed heavily, collapsed to his knees, clutching a stone of glowing crimson.

The Shinju Stone.

XxxX

" _I'm sorry to have to impose this upon you Little One. But I can think of no other task to give you, no other test for you to take that can prove without doubt your conviction, your will. Konoha has something I need. Something you must collect for me. The Uzumaki woman who lives there; Uzumaki Kushina is reported to be close to the end of her term of pregnancy. It is at this time, that she is uniquely exposed, or to be more accurate. The Kyubi within her is. Go to Konoha, watch and wait. Bring a piece of the Kyubi to me."_

Rin hardened herself as she crossed the border into the Land of Fire, face hidden from the world beneath a featureless mask of white and body concealed beneath a hooded black cloak. It seemed almost a lifetime ago, when Naruto-sensei had first saved her from death and taken her in. Two years in which he had taken her from a simple Chunnin level Kunoichi to something she never would have dreamed possible for herself, even without taking into consideration the bond she had developed with Isobu; the Biju that had been sealed inside her.

Her training had been intense, filled with pain and frustration but in the end; Naruto-sensei had kept his promise to her. He had turned her into a powerful Shinobi that didn't have to rely upon and be let down by others for salvation.

For that alone he had her respect and admiration. But it was how he was with her outside of training that earned him her love.

The kindness and patience he showed her, the warmth that was always offered to her and understanding to even when she lost her temper and faith in herself. He never gave up on her or looked down on her even when she felt she was at her weakest.

He was every bit the father that Minato had failed to be when she had almost once considered him as such.

There had even been a few close moments in the past few months where she had caught herself before slipping up on how she addressed Naruto-sensei; having almost on several occasions uttered the words 'tou-san' out loud. She had been a stuttering mess for quite sometime after she had said it out loud the first time, though thankfully sensei had not properly heard her so she had gotten away with it without embarrassment.

It was this that served as the main reason she had agreed to undertake this 'test' he had put before her. She had faith and trust in him that his goals and intentions meant no real harm to anyone she still cared for in Konoha, and that she knew full well the level of familial loyalty Uzumaki had toward one another. This assignment; to go to Konoha and steal a portion of the Kyubi's Chakra from Kushina-sensei while she was vulnerable from her pregnancy was no simple or straight forward thing.

It not only required sneaking into her former home like a common criminal, but potentially going against her former sensei as an enemy. The old Rin would have been horrified and outraged at being asked to do such a thing, to set herself against people she respected and cared about. But that was the old Rin, the Rin that had existed before she had been forced to become a Jinchuriki, the Rin that had believed that it was possible for peace to come about with something as simple and naive as 'understanding.'

She had come to know what kind of man Naruto-sensei was, to know that he was not the kind of man to bring about his ideals or dreams by force and bloodshed. Even this assignment he had placed upon her was kind and thoughtful toward her.

" _Bring a piece of the Kyubi to me. But remember above all else and keep this at the forefront of your mind Little One. Under no circumstances are you to put yourself at risk just to see this through. Better you return in failure than not at all. I would not forgive myself if you were to die at my instruction."_

This consideration had brought her mind back to Kakashi for a moment. At his belief that above all else the mission mattered, even above the lives of his comrades. A by-product of the suicide of his own father who had abandoned the mission just to save the lives of his team-mates that had left him in shame.

But she would not fail.

She had left Uzu ahead of her sensei, the Uzumaki having his own duties to attend to out of the village at the same time so she was alone to undertake this mission.

Even now Rin broke out into a slight blush when she recalled the farewell Naruto-sensei had given her when they had both left the village for their individual missions, the surprise she had felt and warmth that had filled her when she had found herself in his embrace as he hugged her; wishing her well and reminding her to be safe.

The fifteen year old girl shook her head, clearing her thoughts and bringing her focus back to current events. She could not afford to be distracted for what was to come. She had to be ready for what was to come.

XxxX

It took just over a day to reach her destination, moving at a good enough speed to make good time yet be fresh enough to fight if and when needed. But it was with wide eyes and the beginnings of tears that Rin gasped to see she was too late.

Smoke billowed into the night sky, illuminated by the glow of fire as Konoha burned. Rin felt her blood chill and Isobu stir within her when the sky was torn by the howling roar of what could only be the Kyubi no Kitsune.

She was too late.

Rin smothered a lump in her throat at the realisation that for the Kyubi to be free Kushina-sensei had to now be dead, she steeled her resolve and pressed on, increasing her speed and even calling upon Isobu's Chakra to boost her speed. She was too late to save Kushina-sensei, but she would not be too late to complete her reason for coming back to Konoha.

The closer she got the more screams of anguish and sounds of destruction she could hear. She could even now see the massive form of the fox itself as it rampaged through the village itself, destroying buildings with ever swipe of a paw and carving out massive trenches of earth with every forceful roar.

" **We need to hurry Rin. Something is wrong, my brother's Chakra feels off.** " Isobu urged her. The Sanbi sounding quite agitated from within the seal.

The girl simply nodded once in understanding as she called on more of Biju Chakra, forming a cloak of red Chakra with a single tail formed around her.

With the speed boost and heightened physical capabilities the primary Jinchuiki form afforded her, Rin practically exploded into the village, tearing through the half collapsed Village wall to deliver a powerful sucker punch against the side of the Kyubi's face.

Surprise more than anything was what caused the fox to actually tumble away several hundred feet. The brief momentary lapse in the Kyubi's assault was capitalised upon by Konoha as the gathered Shinobi regrouped on a nearby building, the unmistakable form of the Sandaime himself standing at the forefront, armor gleaming in the firelight and the Adamantium staff form of the Monkey King Emna in hand.

"A timely arrival stranger." The old man called out, looking to where she had landed a few buildings from where he had his men had gathered. "Friend or foe?"

Rin turned her head minutely to properly consider the Hokage, her featureless mask and concealed form giving nothing away as he Biju cloak boiled around her. " **Neither.** "

The Sandaime frowned at the response. There was no mistaking the feeling of the Chakra that covered this new arrival, it was a Jinchuriki. But he could not make out the identity of this ninja nor even the village he originated from.

"And who are you then, to come to Konoha?" The Sandaime demanded, gesturing to his men to renew their assault against the Kyubi before it could regain its balance.

" **Me? I'm No-one.** " Was the only response he earned.

There was nothing more to say after that as the unknown Jinchuriki turned from him and refocused back on the Kyubi.

Rin swore under her breath as she watched the fox carefully. The sheer size of the Biju was unbelievable, it was noticeably larger than Isobu and the blood-lust alone that was seeping out from it was palpable to the point she was almost choking on it.

' _How can I stand against something on this kind of scale?_ '

It was Isobu that presented a plan of attack to her. " **Restrict and confine. My brother is never so savage and simple with his attacks. His mind is addled, one of your Genjutsu possibly so it will be easier to trap him than to face him head on.** "

Rin nodded once before crouching down and taking off.

She vanished in a blur, seemingly disappearing from the rooftop to reappear at the ground before the Kyubi's feet, fist cocked back; red Chakra thick and bubbling wildly.

" **Sangosho (Coral Palm!)** "

She struck the ground with a near earth shattering blow, rupturing the pavement before her and causing the ground to crater slightly as she released the stored up Chakra toward the rampaging Biju.

Nothing happened at first, the battle continued uninterrupted when the ground rumbled, shaking as if the very earth herself were joining the fight.

The next instant the ground exploded beneath the Kyubi's feet and a rush of coral grew at such an incredible rate that it seemed to erupt forth, reaching out and latching on to the Kyubi's front feet and growing at an alarming rate to encase its legs almost entirely.

Jumping back, Rin pierced the flesh of her thumbs with a sharpened nail and ran through a brief chain of handseals, slamming her palms back to the ground, causing twin sealing scriptures to spread out into matching arrays.

" **Kuchiyose: Sanju Rashomon (Summoning: Triple Rashomon)!** "

It was as if the very gates of Hell had erupted forth as three giant, heavy gates rose up from the ground, demonic faces marking their surface to surround the snarling Kyubi. Chains rattled as they settled into place, positioned in a triangle formation to trap the Biju within their confines.

And not a moment too soon as the coral binding its feet shattered and fell away, the Kyubi howling in rage before throwing itself forward into one of the Rashomon gates.

Despite its size and the power the strongest of the Biju boasted, the gate was merely dented from the charge.

Rin turned to the Konoha Shinobi that were staring in wide eyed shock and growled angrily. " **Don't just stand there you idiots. Evacuate the civilians, this won't hold the beast for long.** "

They didn't heed her order at first, continuing to stand there in shock when the Sandaime leapt down with a steely expression on his face. "You heard him, search for survivors and evacuate them to the shelters!"

There was a chorus of affirmatives as they all jumped away, leaving the Hokage and disguised Rin standing there, a trapped and enraged Kyubi rampaging a few feet from them.

"Thank you for your aid." Sarutobi acknowledge with a brief bow of the head. "Hopefully this should buy us the time for the Yondaime Hokage to get here, he should be able to deal with the beast."

Rin cocked an eyebrow and looked at the old man curiously. " **Yondaime? You have a new Hokage?** "

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. Namikaze Minato is the new Hokage of Konoha. As a student of Jiraiya he should be able to finish the Kyubi off. We can handle things from here stranger."

Rin felt a flash of irritation at both the dismissal and the revelation that her former sensei had been made Hokage. He had failed both her and Obito when it had mattered most and they had made him Hokage? How long before he failed that as well?

" **I told you my name is No-one.** " Rin replied sharply.

Looking away from the former Hokage and up to the Kyubi at the urging of Isobu, she felt a twist of Chakra in the air. Her eyes widened in shock when, for a brief moment, she saw the image of the Sharingan super imposed over the Kyubi's eye before it faded away, leaving the demonic slitted pupil of the Biju behind.

There was a brief lull in the atmosphere before the Kyuubi howled out in rage, shaking the ground and shattering more than a few buildings from the sheer force of the roar.

Rin flinched slightly when one of the Rashomon gates were destroyed and the Kyubi broke free from the confines that had kept it in place. Both she and Sarutobi were forced to jump back when the fox lashed out, swiping out with its claws.

When Rin landed on a pile of rubble a good hundred feet from the Kyuubi, her eyes widened momentarily when she saw a equally giant toad materialise in an eruption of smoke above the Kyubi before crashing down on it heavily, pinning it to the ground.

When she saw the familiar flash of yellow hair of the sole occupant standing atop the giant toad, Rin cursed under her breath and shot forward, deactivating Isobu's Chakra cloak to reduce her visibility. She had to be quick before Minato got his hands on the Kyubi.

It was the briefest of seconds following after Rin had reached and jumped onto one of the Kyubi's tails when her surroundings completely changed in an instant.

The noise and devastation of Konoha was gone, replaced with nothing but trees and wilderness.

There was a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and Rin barely managed to leap away before several streaks of gold raced around and ensnared the furious Biju.

When she settled on a tree branch that afforded her a decent view of what had happened, the teenage girl blinked in surprise and a sense of awe when she saw the Kyuubi completely bound and pressed against the ground by gleaming golden chains.

Were it not for the fact that Rin had spent quite a bit of her own private time at Uzu going through the old Uzumaki archives she would have been completely confounded as to what kind of jutsu could possibly bind a Biju with such ease and proficiency. But as she had studied quite a lot, she recognised the truth of the chains by their form if not function.

Adamantine Sealing Chains. Fuuinjutsu carried only within the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan.

But that would mean!

Rin spun around, following the chains to their source and felt her throat tighten when she saw the weak and worn form of Uzumaki Kushina half collapsed on the ground at the edge of the clearing Minato had brought the Kyubi to.

She was alive.

That, that wasn't possible. Everything she had learned, everything she had read and Naruto-sensei had taught her about Jinchuriki told her that when a Biju is forcibly removed from its host, the host dies; the body unable to deal with the sudden and violent shock of the Biju's removal. So how was she still alive? Was this a fortunate by-product of the Uzumaki's famed vitality?

Rin shook her head, scolding herself mentally at questioning why such a thing was possible when she should have just been thankful that it was so.

But now that she knew this, it raised a whole new problem. Her assignment was to secure a portion of the Kyuubi's Chakra, to take a piece and return it to Naruto-sensei. But if she did this, if she focused on completing her mission, then it ran the risk of Kushina-sensei succumbing to her fatigue and condition.

What to do?

" _You must understand something about us Rin. The Uzumaki Clan spent most of their time in isolation, separate from the rest of the Nations and as a result we came to trust and rely upon one another. Because of this the birth of our greatest creed came into being; Loyalty to family. Above all else Rin, Uzumaki never turn against family, no matter what._ "

That was it then. There was no other choice in the matter, above all else and no matter what. She had to save Kushina-sensei.

In the time it had taken Rin to come to terms with what she had seen as well as decide what path to take, it appeared that Minato had similarly decided his next course of actions. And the implications of it horrified Rin.

The Hokage had a baby in his arms. And judging by the way Kushina-sensei was crying, it was hers.

Rin felt a flash of anger pass through her at this. Was Minato so cruel, so painfully naive as to curse his own child with the mantle of Jinchuriki, not after the Kyubi had just lay waste to Konoha like it had.

She wanted to interfere, wanted to do something to stop Minato from continuing his current course of action. But...what else was there? With the Kyubi free as it was, it needed to be sealed away once more or it would continue to rampage indiscriminately. Even her original plan would not have resulted with the Kyubi's release. It needed to be sealed and with Kushina-sensei as she was, she would not survive a second sealing and from Rin's own understanding, only an Uzumaki had the vitality and genetic adaptability to endure the greatest of the Biju being sealed within them.

She felt helpless. Impotent and pathetic as she watched silently as Minato flashed through a series of hand signs after placing his child on the ground before him. She could not see any notable changes once the jutsu was complete and so watched intently.

Before her eyes the Kyubi shrieked out as if in pain and impossibly, shrank down till it was under half of its own original size. What kind of jutsu did that!?

Whatever it was, the jutsu appeared to have taken quite a lot out of the blond Hokage as he almost collapsed to his knees. A few tense moments later and Minato had recovered enough to summon forth an alter on which he placed his newborn child.

Rin so desperately wanted to stop this. To intervene and prevent the baby from becoming a Jinchuriki, a tool and weapon for a village that would never truly appreciate the sacrifice forced upon it. But she forced herself still. And watched as Minato prepared.

When it looked like Minato was ready to perform the sealing on the reduced Kyubi, the Biju was finally able to loosen the sealing chains that had bound it so tightly. It appeared that it had caught on to what was happening and, in an act of desperation lashed out with a claw, aiming to destroy the child it was to be sealed within.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. As the razor sharp claw neared the infant, Minato jumped in the way, intent on intercepting the attack to protect his child. At the same time the weakened Kushina did just the same. Finding the strength to push herself up off of the ground and in between the Biju and her precious baby, bracing herself with tears in her eyes as she waited for the inevitable.

An instant later there was the sound of claw piercing flesh and blood flying.

When Kushina didn't feel the searing agony of being impaled, she cracked her eyes open hesitantly, dreading at what she would see. Had she failed to protect her baby?

When she saw her beautiful baby girl still safe and unharmed she let out the breath she had held in out of fear before turning to look behind her.

What she saw was a large, thick wall of solid coral perfectly positioned between herself and Minato, taking the claw that had impaled through Minato and stopping to just before it could have reached her.

"Well that was a close one, almost didn't make it in time. **"**

Kushina turned toward the voice and shook slightly in renewed fear when she saw a figure standing a few dozen feet from them, hands planted on the ground. The figure was completely concealed from identification. Hooded black cloak and a completely blank white mask covering the face. It reminded her of that masked man who had claimed to be Uchiha Madara; the man who had ripped the Kyubi out of her and threatened her baby.

"Sorry I couldn't stop the Kyubi from getting you as well Yondaime." The masked ninja said with a shrug. "It moved faster than I could react."

"W-who are you?" Minato said with a cough, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he felt the Kyubi's claw twitch inside him.

"As I told your Sandaime before, I'm No-one." The figure replied casually before rising to a stand. "Whatever it is you plan on doing I suggest you act with haste. As for you Uzumaki-san..."

No-one vanished from sight briefly and soon after so did Kushina only to reappear several feet from both the Kyubi and Minato.

"...We really should tend your condition."

Kushina flinched when the masked ninja's hands lit up with a green Chakra and were pressed against her stomach, easing the constant pain she had felt from when the Kyubi had been ripped out of her. "Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

Rin looked down at the woman who had been like a mother to her years ago before turning to gaze over to Minato; seeing that he had gone on to continue his actions in sealing the Kyubi away. Already she could see the fox's Chakra leaving the beast and entering the infant.

"I want to make sure that your child does not grow up alone and unloved." She finally replied. "Frankly you are lucky enough to be alive at this point after all that has happened tonight, I would think it best you do not question the 'why's' and 'what's'. Focusing on living."

By the time Rin was satisfied that Kushina-sensei would survive, that her system was well and truly capable of recovering from the shock of having a Biju ripped from it, she turned to look back to where Minato and the child were.

There wasn't sadness or anger when she saw the prone form of her former sensei, laying there dead before the newly made Jinchuriki. Only an absence really. An indifference toward him that she had come to link to whenever she had seen a body on the battlefield. He was just another one of the dead now. Nothing more.

With a shake of her head, Rin walked over to where the babe was resting, fast asleep on the sealing pedestal, completely and blissfully ignorant to the vivid seal that was tattooed onto her stomach.

"P-please don't take my baby!" Kushina begged, seeing and helpless to stop it as Rin bent down and picked up the child.

The Uzumaki woman was shocked into silence however when, instead of taking off with her daughter as she expected, the cloaked ninja turned around and walked back to her, gently easing the sleeping form of her baby girl into her arms.

"Dying is easy Uzumaki-san." Rin said to the older woman. "Dying for family is even easier. But living on is harder and you are going to have to endure some hard days. But you will do it for her."

With a pointed gesture toward the sleeping child, Rin looked at Kushina a moment longer before standing up and looking away, sensing the approach of several Konoha Shinobi.

"It is said that those of the Uzumaki Clan are almost legendary for their loyalty and love toward family. I wonder, will you disprove that claim?"

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _Mitsue-shiro_ _-_ Supreme Priestess

 _Naishoten_ _-_ High Priestess


	6. The Zero Chakra Plan

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

 **XxxX**

( _Previously_ )

" _Dying is easy Uzumaki-san." Rin said to the older woman. "Dying for family is even easier. But living on is harder and you are going to have to endure some hard days. But you will do it for her."_

 _With a pointed gesture toward the sleeping child, Rin looked at Kushina a moment longer before standing up and looking away, sensing the approach of several Konoha Shinobi._

" _It is said that those of the Uzumaki Clan are almost legendary for their loyalty and love toward family. I wonder, will you disprove that claim?"_

XxxX

Naruto slumped forward, reaching up with a hand to knead at his forehead, feeling a measure of concern and worry for the events that had been revealed to him. Tilting his head to one side he looked up to the still standing Rin as she looked to where he had seated himself; on a rocky outcropping by the beach of Uzu, overlooking its famed whirlpools that surrounded the islands.

The Uzumaki had finally returned from the Shinju Temple a few days behind Rin, his newly forged Infinity Stone in hand to accompany the Sealing Stone he had painstakingly crafted years before. He had been somewhat disappointed when he had learned that Rin had failed in her initial objective of retrieving a piece of the Kyubi for him. But if he were to be completely honest with himself; he had never really expected her to succeed. It was not the task itself that mattered; simply her willingness to undertake it.

Her failure was unimportant. Her report on what she had witnessed was.

The masked man; Uchiha Madara according to his cousin Nagato's own reports, had surfaced once more. And once again the target for the would be Uchiha Patriarch was an Uzumaki clan-member. The death of Konoha's Yondaime Hokage; Namikaze Minato was irrelevant, another face to bear what amounted to be nothing more than a title and fancy hat.

What had been of concern to Naruto at hearing his student's report was that Uzumaki Kushina had been abducted and had the Kyubi forcibly extracted from her and later sealed within her newborn child. A daughter.

A wash of gratitude and relief had passed through him when Rin had explained that she had been able to stabilise Kushina and prevent her from succumbing to her fatigue and injuries and that the newly born Uzumaki would not grow up alone within Konoha.

According to Rin the former Sandaime Hokage had been on the scene very quickly following the sealing with a handful of reinforcements and while their focus on Kushina and her child had allowed Rin the opportunity to make her escape unnoticed, it had also prevented her from even contemplating the retrieval of the Uzumaki women and returning them home.

He had even enjoyed a brief laugh when Rin had explained to him of how she had introduced herself as No-one. And made a mental reminder to make use of that for the future.

But this left a whole new assortment of issues and problems for Naruto to contend with. The Kyubi was now sealed within a newborn Uzumaki Child.

From the description of Rin's report about the Kyubi's reduction in size it was also highly likely that the Yondaime had divided the fox into two halves; most likely separating its Yin and Yang Chakra. That complicated things for him.

And then there was the age and position of this new Jinchuriki. Before, when the Kyubi had been previously sealed within its two other hosts, the Uzumaki Jinchuriki had been in a position of relative power. Uzumaki Mito had been the wife of the Shodai Hokage and a powerhouse of her own right and Kushina had been under the protection and support of the Uzumaki clan and by the time the clan was gone she had grown into a powerful ninja in her own right.

The new daughter of the Uzumaki clan had neither the power nor the political support to shield her from the less that well intended elements of the Shinobi world.

He would need to take direct action to protect her. The child and Kushina both.

"Sensei?"

Naruto brought himself out of his meditations and lowered his hand, pondering briefly on a course of action before returning his gaze back to the teenage girl by his side. He was so very proud of her. She had not once failed to meet his expectations during her training and when he had placed her in what he had considered to be an almost impossible situation, she had not disappointed.

"I will need to leave." Naruto said slowly, considering his words even as he uttered them. "I may be gone for several years, at minimum."

Naruto saw the concern and even hurt in Rin's eyes at this, reaching her own conclusions at his decision. "I will need to journey to Konoha myself, infiltrate their ranks to watch over and even protect Kushina and her daughter."

Rin swallowed thickly, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. Naruto could see the pain shining there; the betrayal and sadness. Feeling as if she had somehow disappointed him and let him down somehow.

Naruto closed his eyes briefly before letting out a long, drawn out breath; angry at himself for causing her to feel such sorrow. "I will need to arrange for another to take over things while I am gone, to liaise between the various contacts I have around the nations as well as report to me when necessary."

Rin blinked away her tears, trying to regain a sense of control to her emotions before nodding in a resigned understanding. "I understand Sensei. M-May I continue to stay? I-I know I failed you, let you down. But I want to stay to try and help."

Naruto felt a smile at the corner of his lips, resisting the urge to rise to his feet and embrace the poor girl. Foolish child.

"I have been fortunate enough to acquire a number of well positioned contacts and informants around the Nations over the years; individuals whom share my belief and provide resources to my objective, be it information or materials." Naruto explained, slipping a hand into his pocket to idly rub his thumb against the multifaceted face of the red gem safely tucked within. "I have dedicated my life into bringing my dream to fruition and as such cannot entrust such responsibility to anyone short of family."

Rin nodded once more, straightening her posture to seem more professional. "Of course, would I be reporting to Nagato-san here in Uzu or will he stay in Ame?"

Naruto blinked, as if in confusion as he looked up at the girl. With a shake of his head he heaved himself to his feet, brushing away errant sand from his pants before striding over to the girl, placing his hands on her shoulders and holding her out at arms length, ducking his head down to better lock his eyes with hers.

"Nagato is my cousin and an Uzumaki yes." He began, maintaining eye contact so as to ensure she focused completely on him and his words. "But for this, not even that is enough. No, there is only one I would entrust such a responsibility to, such a burden."

Rin was confused. Everything she had learned from the man before her, every rule, strategy and creed. It was all secondary to the unwritten law of the Uzumaki Clan; loyalty to family above all else. Who could there possibly be that stood above this to Uzumaki Naruto. Or more to the point; _How_ could there be?

"You Nohara Rin. My Daughter."

A gentle breeze could have toppled her. Her heartbeat seemed to come to a standstill, as if every part of her had come to a complete stop to take in the moment and ensure that it was actually real. Tears returned and she felt her stomach clench tightly as she replayed his words over and over in her mind, desperate to ensure that what she had heard was real and not a cruel lie.

The tears finally fell free, streaking down her cheeks as her heart and mind reached a similar conclusion. He had truly said it! He had called her his daughter!

Naruto frowned minutely as he saw the emotions that had overcome the girl before him. He had meant what he had said. Truly with all that he was. From the moment he had first saved her on that battlefield and over the two brief years he had taken her under his tutelage; she had become important to him and he had come to love her like a daughter. She _was_ his daughter.

But, seeing the tears as they fell down her cheeks and how shock still she had become, had he made a mistake. Overstepped himself in regard to the relationship he had believed and hoped they had.

"Ah, perhaps I have gone too far." Naruto offered hesitantly, lessening the hold he had on her shoulders and pulling away slightly. "Bringing such complications to a relationship between a teacher and his student. I apologise if I have made things uncomfortable."

When Naruto finally did remove his hands from her shoulder and made to leave, looking quite embarrassed and like someone who wanted to be anywhere than his current location, Rin's mind finally cleared from the blissful haze it had fallen into as her eyes shot open wide and her heart leapt into her throat.

"NO!"

Naruto let out an 'oof' and staggered back a few steps as the brown haired missile known as Rin threw herself into his chest; burying her head into him and arms wrapping around him with her hands clenching at his clothes tightly.

Naruto just stood there, a statue of wide eyed shock as the girl clung to him as if in fear he would vanish in an instant. Only the sound of crashing waves broke the otherwise perfect silence before Rin slowly removed her face from his chest, eyes red from her tears as she looked up to him.

"D-Did you mean it?" She asked softly, voice thick with a hope that made Naruto's own heart clench. "Touchan?"

Naruto's startled expression melted away and he raised his own arms to hold the girl to him, wrapping her in warmth. "Of course Little One. You are my daughter. Now and forever."

XxxX

It had taken a few days to get everything into order for his departure. Restructuring security seals over the Uzumaki shrines and memorials he had erected to allow Rin free access without him and gathering everything of importance that he needed.

During the entire time he had smiled fondly as Rin seemed to dance around as if on cloud nine as she assisted him; half her mind still in the clouds.

By the end of the week he was leaving Uzu for the final time for the foreseeable future with his Daughter at his side and a surge of confidence and assurance he had not felt since the moment he had succeeded in forging the Sealing Stone.

From the moment they set foot on the Land of Fire, both Naruto and Rin were garbed in their field uniforms. Rin in her blank mask and black cloak as the operative 'No-one' and Naruto in his black body suit and dark gold armor plates with a Cat styled ANBU mask in place. Over the course of several weeks into the realm of months as they passed through a number of different territories toward the destination the Uzumaki had in mind.

In the duration the pair made several stops along the way, checking in on his contacts and agents set up across the Elemental Nations. She was introduced as his liaison for the coming years.

He instructed her in the varying methods of contact and showed her several dead drops that had been set up for spies that were positioned in key places that he himself could not gain easy access to.

They passed through Ame; meeting with Nagato and Konan whom had both returned to rule over the Hidden Village after the threat that was Uchiha Madara had passed by.

Naruto had been interested to learn that in that time the Uchiha had somehow been able to steal away control over their organisation The Akatsuki during that meeting.

Nagato had been pleased to meet with Rin properly for the first time and Konan had simply stared at her for a full minute before nodding in approval before leaving to tend to her own duties in the village proper.

Naruto had been set to leave Ame with Rin; intending on passing through the Land of Rivers to show Rin one if his, more early attempts to achieve his goal; to allow his daughter to see exactly what she was potentially getting herself into. He wanted to know and see what he had bee nlike at his worst.

He was set to leave the Amekage's Tower, the central building that Nagato operated and ruled Ame from, when the ruler in question halted his exit.

"A moment before you leave Naruto."

The redhead in question paused at the balcony, lowering his leg from the railing to look back to the orange haired form that had once been Yahiko but now served as his cousin's Deva Path.

"Something wrong?"

Nagato frowned thoughtfully before nodding after a moment. "I had been receiving word from some of my people over the past few years. At first it was more or less nothing to be concerned about; my former sensei Jiriaya of the Sannin had apparently been looking into rumors that connected to your activities regarding the Sage of Six Paths."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow in interest. The Toad Sannin of Konoha fancied himself a spy-master; bringing together a network of informants from brothels, clubs and taverns scattered around the nations. It was amusing that the man thought himself a master of his craft when all he was doing was more or less bribing and tipping for over the counter information and gossip. What could Jiriaya have done to warrant Nagato bringing him up?

"Is there a problem?"

"Until recently I would have said no." Nagato replied easily. "Jiraiya-sensei caught wind of your theft of one of the Sacred Treasures of the Sage from Kumo several years ago and started looking into it. From my own information he wasn't getting anywhere. Now However, whether out of credible information or simply a fortunate assumption, he has linked the Kumo theft and several of your other activities to a single source."

Naruto's eyes widened briefly at this. "What does this mean? Does Konoha know of me now?"

The Rinnegan wielder shook his head. "No. Fortunately the only thing that has been determined is that an individual wearing archaic Warring Clan era armor and ANBU style masks of varying design is involved. Jiriaya-sensei has taken to calling you the 'Man of Masks'."

That was a relief. Ignoring the humiliation that would have been felt at being discovered by the idiot Sannin of all people, if knowledge got out as to his identity and intentions, it would make things much more difficult for him in the future.

"And he has nothing to support his suspicions?" Naruto asked.

"No, so far Jiriaya-sensei has only been able to hear second hand rumor and gossip of your presence in areas where either later reports of your actual activities emerged, or where myth and legend claimed the Sage had once been. From what I have learned he has only to word of drunkards and whores. Nothing he can report back to his Hokage with."

Naruto nodded slowly, considering the information for a moment as he looked out to the ever present rain that fell down upon Amegakure before returning his gaze back to the other Uzumaki. "Send out a misinformation campaign. False sightings, rumors and identities. let's lead the Sannin on a merry little chase; see where he goes."

Nagato nodded, pausing for a moment as if in consideration before a door behind him slid open and another orange haired man stepped out into view, dressed in the same black cloak as Nagato's Yahiko body with similar piercings. The other Path of Nagato left the tower just as quickly and vanished from sight; off to begin its assignment.

"It will take some time, while his network leaves something to be desired, he will still become suspicious if we leave too much too soon for him to find."

Naruto nodded in agreement before turning back to the balcony, gesturing for the silent and curious Rin to follow him. "Rin will keep me informed of your progress."

With that, the pair made their departure. Within an hour the duo had left the village itself and were making for the Land of Rivers.

XxxX

While neighbours to each other and not very sizable like the territories belonging to the Great Five Villages, it took a few weeks to reach their destination. Naruto escorted Rin out of the Land of Storms and took her through the Land of Rivers; using the route he had selected as a means to further her training.

When they had passed through the desolate and overgrown ruin that had once been Tanigakure; a small and isolated Shinobi village hidden away within the Land of Rivers, Naruto had just watched Rin silently as she made her way through it. He had offered her no words of explanation or reasoning behind the detour, explained nothing as to what had happened to the village or the people within it. He just walked through it as if it hadn't even been there and allowed the teenage girl to follow in his wake, taking in the sights and atmosphere of the desolation.

He didn't comment on the emotions worn across her face when she saw the clear signs of slaughter and wholesale destruction. She was clearly feeling a measure of empathy for the people that had once lived here and he had taught her too well for her to not notice that whatever had happened, the people whom had once called this village had home never stood a chance against whatever force had come against them.

From there he had taken her west into the Land of Wind; traversing across the vast and endless desert toward the final destination he had in mind. The place where it had all began for him and where it would begin for Rin as well.

When the pair finally crossed the borders out of the Land of Wind and into what was known as the Land of Valleys; a small territory beyond The Land of Wind itself heading toward the Land of Earth, Naruto had taken the time to summon Mikoto.

The Rabbit _Mitsue-shiro_ Had long since demanded that when the time came for Rin to be properly informed and brought into the fold that she be present.

Rin had been wide eyed and in awe to see the Rabbit elder when she had been summoned. Understandable considering that at large summon contracts were not a common practice even amongst the Great Five.

Naruto refused to consider the fact that she may or may not have also squealed out at seeing Mikoto. And the dangerous glare being aimed at him by said daughter was most definitely not a factor toward his voluntary ignorance.

The three were walking through a canyon floor that he had brought them to deep within the mountain range that bordered the Land of Earth when Rin finally spoke up; shifting the grip she had on a boulder that was half the size of Gamabunta she had been instructed to carry for the past few hours.

"What are we doing here Touchan?" She spoke up, not even sounding remotely strained from the weight she was hefting. "I don't understand."

Naruto was silent for a time, looking to Mikoto whom had settled into her customary perch atop his shoulder.

With a huff Mikoto shifted to turn back and look to their brunette. "What do you know of the one you humans remember as the Sage of Six Paths?"

Rin blinked in confusion; having not expected the return question to her query. Once more shifting her grip on her boulder, juggling it for a second so she could shake a kink out of her wrists. "The Sage? Well, um, he created Ninjutsu and gave Chakra to the world."

Naruto felt Mikoto quiver in anger at the statement on his shoulder. It was no secret to him as to how Mikoto felt about this particular subject and the commonly held belief that had the Sage himself as the saviour of the world and origin of Chakra. Reaching up he laid a hand on the Rabbit's head and gently rubbed his fingers against her ears, calming her down.

"That, Little One is not exactly the truth." Naruto took over, dividing his attention between the path ahead of him, speaking to Rin and calming down an irate _Mitsue-shiro. "_ It was not the Sage; Otsutsuki Hagoromo that gave to us Chakra nor did he create Ninjutsu exactly. _"_

Rin smothered her blush at the affectionate way he spoke to her, still growing used to the fatherly attention that was now sent her way clearly, focusing herself to pay attention to what he had to say.

"The Sage of Six Paths founded an ideal known as ' _Ninshu_ '. A naive philosophy that was at its foundation peace through understanding. Using Chakra to connect people to each other to allow for mutual understanding and co-operation." Naruto shook his head dismissively, clearly regarding the very concept as foolish and the dreams of a child. "It was his own children that took that ideal and weaponised it into what we know as Ninjutsu; a weapon of war."

Rin was wide eyed in shock at the revelation; dropping the massive rock with a colossal thud. It never entered her mind that her father could be misinformed or even question the _how_ of how he knew this for now. Just that he did. And it was astonishing.

"And Chakra?"

"The creation of his Mother." Mikoto spoke up once more. "The beautiful and glorious Otsutsuki Kaguya-sama."

"Yes, known to those who loved her as the Rabbit-Goddess, Kaguya was a princess who ruled the Nations long before Chakra even existed." Naruto continued. "It was when she could no longer watch in silence as her people fell to violence and corruption that she broke what was considered Divine Law and consumed the fruit of the World Tree. From this act; Chakra was born."

"The World Tree?"

Naruto nodded absently as he looked up to the canyon walls, eyes seeking for some hidden sign of reference to see how close they were to their goal. "A single giant tree that grew back in ancient times. From it grew a single fruit. During the era of its existence it was widely considered as the God Tree and believed to support and separate Heaven from Earth."

"Kaguya-sama was willing to sacrifice her very soul for the sake of you petty humans by eating the Fruit of the Tree of the World." Mikoto picked up, shaking her head disappointedly. "A sacrifice your kind has spat on in the thousands of years since."

Naruto briefly smiled as he rolled his eyes, making sure Mikoto herself didn't see it. "Mikoto here once served as the personal attendant to Kaguya during the height of her reign so you will need to overlook her disregard for humanity as a whole."

His eyes fixed upon a sight and his lips broadened into a wider smile before he turned fully to look back to an attentive Rin. "To answer your question, we are here for this."

With a sweeping gesture of his arm, Naruto stepped to the side and gave way for Rin to see and gape at the grand sight before her. A beautiful and flawlessly carved temple entryway set into the very canyon wall, looming over a hundred feet high it was so intricately detailed with carvings and etched depictions of countless rabbits, moons and stars with breathtaking statue of a noble looking woman with long flowing hair and two rabbit like horns jutting out from her head centered over the entryway.

"Behold, the Palace of the Moon. Seat of Power to Princess Otsutsuki Kaguya." Naruto gestured as he approached the temple entry, forcing Rin to break out of her stupor and follow after him. "Buried beneath the mountain long ago by Hagoromo and later recovered and protected by Mikoto and her kin. It was here that I found my purpose and was set upon my path."

Naruto led her through the grand archway and into a large and expansive cavern. Empty for the most part a pathway of marble stone winded its way across the cave, lined with large marble columns carved with twisting and winding vines and flowers climbing up their surface, the pathway led to a sight unlike anything Rin had ever seen before.

Nothing compared to it. Not the Hokage Tower of Konoha, the Palace of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire not even paintings of beautiful Uzu in its glory days. The palace before her was beyond words.

"Do you know what my dream is?" Naruto asked as they neared the palace steps. "I dream of peace. Not understanding or anything so simple and naive, but of genuine peace where the weak do not suffer under war and families are not forced to weep over the gravestones of loved ones."

"After the fall of Uzu I journeyed to lands beyond the Shinobi system. I saw places untouched by Chakra and therefore ignorant to the war and death it brings. It was in my travels that I came to a realisation. War, suffering, pain and loss can all be traced back to one single source: Chakra. It is through Chakra that the Shinobi system itself receives its power and through that enforces its will and greed upon an otherwise powerless world. It was there that I came upon my Destiny; to put an end to Chakra and the system of Shinobi that it supports. My first attempts were, harsh. You have seen one such attempt."

It took Rin a moment to draw the connection, at first confused at what he could possibly be referring to. Then it hit her. The devastated village in the Land Of Rivers.

"Tanigakure." She whispered.

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Yes. Tanigakure in The Land of Rivers and Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears. I destroyed them both. Utterly, completely and without mercy I laid waste to them and the Shinobi within. And do you know what has happened since?"

Rin shook her head, unable to vocalise the question of ' _what._ '

"The people there, the civilians, they left those lands to settle and create a home elsewhere and in the time since then have known nothing of death and suffering. They have known peace and happiness free of Shinobi and the curse that is Chakra."

"Y-you killed them?"

Naruto let out a sigh as he reached the foot of the steps leading up to the palace proper. With a tilt of his head to Mikoto that had her hopping off of his shoulder and making her own way into the palace Naruto turned and sat down on the steps, looking to the wide eyed and upset visage of his daughter.

"To bring an end to suffering, yes I did." Naruto replied with a nod. "A mere drop in the bucket compared to those that now live in prosperity and joy because of me."

"And how many more villages have you 'saved' since then?" Rin asked, eyes thick with tears at the thought of the man she had come to see and love as a father engaging in such slaughter. "How many people have you killed since saving me?"

"When I was young, I came to the Uzukage with a plan to ensure the survival of Uzu and the Uzumaki Clan." Naruto spoke, avoiding the posed question. "When he denied me I remarked of his lack of will. I was called naive and with an ideal that was akin to the desire to simply see the world change with but a snap of my fingers. When I decided to walk this path I believed I would require the will to see through the required and inevitable bloodshed. It was when I found this place and Mikoto that I learned of a more merciful, cleaner, path."

Naruto reached out toward Rin and extended two fingers, pinching at the air slightly. Rin gasped when she saw a glimmer of light form in between his fingertips and when he lowered his hand, a stone of darkened amber the size of a thumbnail held there.

"I call them; Infinity Stones." Naruto explained, holding out the stone for Rin to consider. "The very crystallisation of Miracles themselves. This in particular is what I refer to as the Sealing Stone. The culmination of years of research and development forged from the collective chakra and strength of the Uzumaki Clan with the power of one of the Sage of Six Paths treasures; the Amber Purifying Pot that was once in the possession of Kumogakure."

Rolling the stone within his fingers, Naruto flicked it into the air off of his thumb and Rin watched as not one but two stones fell back down to rest in his palm; the amber stone and another of quietly glowing crimson.

"The Sealing Stone allows me to create and manipulate any manner of fuuinjutsu and was what I used to prevent the seal containing the Sanbi from killing you and is the key I require to create the others needed for my plan to succeed." He held up the red stone for Rin to consider. "This I created from the petrified roots of the original World Tree. Just as the tree once held power to shape the very reality it existed within, this Shinju Stone too can shape and mold reality."

"A-and how many stones do you need?" Rin asked, eyeing the two stones carefully, even Isobu within her wary of the power they contained.

"In total? Six." Naruto transferred the Shinju stone to his left hand and rolled the Sealing stone in his right hand before opening his fingers wide, with nothing falling from it, the amber stone vanished. "With all six combined and in the correct focusing array, I will have the power to affect change on a level unseen of since Kaguya herself."

"So you can slaughter everyone with Chakra?" Rin asked, afraid of the answer. "You'll kill all of us?"

Naruto shook his head in denial. "No. my enemy are not the Ninja themselves, it is the Chakra they so callously use to wage war. I will take it from them. Like a father taking a toy his child is not fit to play with I will remove the Chakra from every living thing in all of existence. There will be no death or suffering from my erasing of Chakra. The ninja that use it today will simply wake to a tomorrow where it is gone. Like a memory."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Naruto lowered his hands, resting them on his knees limply as he looked up at the young woman that was so very important to him, smiling hesitantly. "I cannot imagine a world without you by my side Little One. Just as I cannot bear to do this without you. I do not, will not ask of you any more than I expect of myself, but I cannot go on without knowing you are with me."

Rin felt her throat tighten as she saw the love, hope and faint traces of fear looking up at her in his eyes. Feeling her heart clench tightly at seeing him look so, afraid.

"A-and if I decide I can't? If I don't want any part of this?" It hurt to say the words, to see the pain amplify in her Touchan's eyes and see his form seem to crumple inwards slightly, but they had to be said. She had to know.

"If that is your choice." Naruto had to force the words out, Looking down to his feet as he steeled himself. "Then I will wish you all the luck in the world and let you go."

He heard her movement, shuffling footsteps as she approached him and readied himself, expecting her to lash out, call him insane, a monster.

Instead he found himself in her warm embrace, arms clutching him tightly.

"I believe in you Touchan. If this is what you say needs to be done, then it needs to be done."

Unbidden, Naruto's own eyes filled with tears and he raised his own arms to return the hug.

For a moment he held her there, taking comfort in not only her love, but her support of his aspirations.

When she pulled back from him he cleared his throat and refocused, nodding in pride and approval when he saw her doing the same.

"I will ensure that everything continues on in your absence Touchan." Rin declared, determined and resolute in her loyalty and belief. "I will not let you down."

Naruto smiled fondly and rose back to his feet. "I know. Now, give me your hand."

blinking in confusion, Rin extended out her hand to him and watched as he flipped it over, palm upward and opened her hand out, spreading her fingers open before pressing the glowing red stone that was the Shinju Stone there before pulling back, leaving it on her palm for her to consider.

"I will be heading for Konoha to watch over Kushina and her daughter. With the Kyubi attack she is exposed and vulnerable and I cannot allow that." Naruto explained seriously, stepping back. "With you in command of everything in my absence, I will continue the plan from within Konoha and while The Sealing Stone goes with me, I entrust this; the Shinju Stone into your protection."

Rin's head snapped up to regard her father. Her astonishment at his faith and belief in her further compounded and heightened by this enormous show of trust.

"I know you will not let me down." Naruto continued, holding up a hand to forestall any words of gratitude or even question from her. "You are my daughter. My family and the one I love most in this world."

The Red head watched as the teenager nodded in understanding before tucking the stone away in a secure pocket, taking care to assure herself it was safe.

Naruto forced back another smile as he looked at her, standing there before him. A far sight from the frail, frightened little girl that he had saved what seemed like a lifetime ago and seeing the powerful, grown up young woman she had blessed him enough to see her become.

Now was not the time to fall into his feelings of pride.

"Now come. You are to face one final test." Naruto declared, turning from her to finally proceed up the steps to the Moon Palace itself. "Mikoto wishes to take your measure before this day is done."

XxxXxxXxxX

 _Mitsue-shiro_ _-_ Supreme Priestess

 **A/N**

 **Alrighty then. Now for those who actually read these things at the end of the chapter I need to make myself clear on something. I am fully aware that the background and history I put in here regarding Kaguya's origins and all that doesn't exactly follow the Naruto Canon. Reason for that is I am IGNORING the whole alien and Otsutsuki clan bullshit as a whole. There are no space people lurking out in the dark, Kaguya; while vastly different from the rest of the world, was born on earth and that's the end of it!**

 **There is just too much bullshit involved to include anything beyond the atmosphere of the Naruto world beyond the fact that the Sage made the moon.**

 ***ahem*. Moving on.**

 **I need more reviews. People who follow and favorite, how hard is it to add a few tiny words of support and send them my way. Its kind of hard for me to tell if I am doing this justice if only a small amount of people are giving feedback.**

 **At any rate.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **Read.**

 **Like.**

 **REVIEW!**

 **Until next time...**


	7. A Miner Detail

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

 ** **A/N before you read:****

 ** **A poll is in place on my profile. Please head there, consider it and vote.****

 **XxxX**

( _Previously_ )

 _The Red head watched as the teenager nodded in understanding before tucking the stone away in a secure pocket, taking care to assure herself it was safe._

 _Naruto forced back another smile as he looked at her, standing there before him. A far sight from the frail, frightened little girl that he had saved what seemed like a lifetime ago and seeing the powerful, grown up young woman she had blessed him enough to see her become._

 _Now was not the time to fall into his feelings of pride._

" _Now come. You are to face one final test." Naruto declared, turning from her to finally proceed up the steps to the Moon Palace itself. "Mikoto wishes to take your measure before this day is done."_

XxxX

Despite the apparent simplicity of his current task; get to Konoha, it was not so straight forward. It was perfectly within his right and capability to simply walk up to the village's great gates and enter under the aegis of the Uzumaki clan's alliance to the great hidden village of the Land of Fire. He knew that it was not the best approach if he wished to avoid any overt attention and scrutiny.

So instead, Naruto had taken to travelling the outer regions of the Land of Fire; tracking and hunting down any isolated patrols or travelling bands of Konoha Shinobi. He reasoned that if he could be 'found' by Konoha Shinobi seemingly by chance, he could have reason to enter the village without drawing the undesired queries and suspicions. Why had he come? Where had he been? What did he want?

It had taken him some time, but after a few weeks he had finally come to find the trail of the Konoha squad assigned to patrol the countries north-western borders between the Lands of Fire and Canyons. Thus far he had been on their trail for the better part of a week now. Keeping a far enough distance that not even a Hyuga could discover him but close enough so as to not lose them unexpectedly.

He was mapping out their route. What path did they take in their patrol? What obstacles did they avoid and what locations were deemed important enough to warrant their presence in every pass? And most importantly; where did they rest and resupply?

It was on his sixth day of tracking them, that the patrol had presented him with the opportunity. They had made their second stop at a small mining village; to restock provisions and spend the night at the local Lodge.

It was rough, possibly incomplete and relied just a bit too much on good fortune and guess work than he would have liked for his taste, but he had the makings of a plan of approach.

With this being the patrol's second stop by the same otherwise inconsequential town Naruto had been confidant enough to designate the location as the assigned rest stop for the Konoha squad assigned to the region. Meaning that when they left; having already done so earlier in the morning of the seventh day, they would return three days hence on their return trip.

Now provided that Konoha policies regarding border patrol were similar to that of Uzu's, Naruto had a couple of months to work with before this squad were relieved and returned back to their village. From what he had been able to see based on the units diligence and steadily improving methodology Naruto could make an educated assumption that he was dealing with not only green Shinobi, but that they were also in the early days of their deployment. Which meant he had at most a month and a half before their relief came.

Six weeks. Not ideal for a true infiltration and extraction, but enough for a rush job.

Naruto ended up waiting an extra day before he made his move and begun implementation of his strategy. That extra day of travel time for the patrol allowed for enough distance to grow between them and the village; his current location so that any and all outages of Chakra as a result of Ninjutsu would go unnoticed even if one of their number was a sensor type.

So with that freedom; Naruto constructed a small team of **Mizu Bunshin (Water Clones** _)_ and dispatched them across the border to the Land of Canyons. Even with a mere ten percent of his total Chakra available to them to maintain the jutsu they would last more than long enough to travel the distance needed.

The Land of Canyons was the intended destination. If memory served he had heard talk that what he needed had been sighted there.

Presently, with the final **Bunshin** gone, Naruto was approaching the town himself. He had taken the time beforehand to rough himself up appropriately; messing up his hair, dirt and mud caking his clothing and body to give evidence of a long and arduous journey.

It was an extra attention to detail for the redhead that as he approached he cast his focus within to check on the status and functionality of his atrophy seal was still at optimum efficiency.

The Atrophy seal was a near perfect result of Uzumaki ingenuity, experimentation and miracle via the Sealing Stone that Naruto had designed specifically for infiltration of a hostile Shinobi territory. In the hands of a non-Uzumaki it was nothing short of a monstrous punishing seal not even the worst of criminals deserved placed upon them. By design the seal was crippling; reducing and wasting away the subjects very Chakra coils till they were but a third of their original size. Placed upon any regular Shinobi it would cripple them entirely; rendering the unfortunate individual practically incapable of harnessing their Chakra even internally for any but the most basic of Ninjutsu and enhancement. But on the body of an Uzumaki, its effects were far more, limited.

Naruto's Chakra coils were a mere third of their original size and intended and his capability to harness the vast Chakra pool within him was just as severely limited, but unlike any other to hypothetically bear the seal, Naruto could remove the seal and be almost instantaneously restored to his previous peak condition; his Uzumaki vitality and biology restoring and reversing the damage.

It was this seal that Naruto had carried upon him for several years now, using it to remain unnoticed by the Shinobi world at large.

There were no Shinobi to fear discovery from within the Mining village beyond that of the Konoha patrol that were to pass through, but the seals presence would allow him to more seamlessly blend in with the populace in the event of unexpected developments.

All in all it was a short process; integrating into the village itself and finding a place within the community. As civilians they had no real understanding of what it was to be Shinobi or how to identify one beyond a village headband so it was a simple manner to successfully pass off as a mere traveller. As for proper immersion into the community itself, well the mines were always in need of more bodies due to the nature of the work and hazards involved. By the end of his first week within the village he was perfectly concealed; no different from any other miner in appearance and accepted by the locals from interactions and time spent.

It was admittedly more difficult than Naruto imagined; interacting with other people. He had spent so many years more or less in isolation, with only a few close and trusted associates much less friends with which to talk with. And that made things a bit difficult for him.

Thankfully his 'job' in the mines provided him with a more or less solitary environment where he would be excused with not socialising with his coworkers. Every couple of days he would simply make sure to make an appearance at the local tavern. Share a few rounds with the others, laugh and joke around and then retire for the night.

Two weeks in and the Konoha Patrol had passed through in their expected resupplies several times with each and every visit leaving them none the wiser of his intentions. It was already common and public knowledge of his relatively recent arrival and the Patrol had performed an obligatory check into his presence for risk assessment. However their 'investigation' went for all of five minutes. After they determined that he was a mere civilian and working in the mines with no outwardly suspect behaviour they determined him to be harmless.

Naruto had spent that very night laughing like a madman at the tavern after a few drinks at the sheer arrogance and hilarity of their disregard.

XxxX

Time passed. Everything was in place. Naruto's clones had returned several weeks prior during one of the grace periods free of Konoha's presence to report in the success of their assignment. Their mission report had detailed the numbers that had been amassed to the task as well as the specific time and approach that had been dictated to the, 'recruits.'

As planned everything would happen the night before the patrols scheduled arrival. Naruto had already rigged several buildings and works sites to be burned early on, which would serve as a handy beacon to draw attention.

Presently it was but a few moments from when everything was due to kick off. His **Mizu Bunshin** had reported back that the assets were closing in, rather amateurishly to be honest, spread out to the north of the town.

He had facilitated a moderate rain to blanket the town its surroundings. Throughout the weather he had cast out his sensory Ninjutsu to act as an early warning system for the anticipated approach of the patrol. His presence in the rain was enough so that he could still 'see' through it, but still avoid the detection of even the most ignorant of Shinobi.

As was his current routine he was presently at the tavern, participating in a drinking game with a few miners and the foreman. It wouldn't do for him to be strangely absent for no reason.

Then it happened.

Naruto bowed his head, reflecting for a moment at the path his actions had taken him. Cries of terror and anguish pierced through the night followed by the cheers and roars of blood lust and victory.

A sudden hush passed through the interior of the building that was broken only after a patron fell off his stool with a loud crash. In the barest of instants, chaos ruled.

As if they were a single entity, the patrons of the tavern all rushed outside, eyes wide with alarm and several carrying shovels and picks that had been brought with them from the mine. Naruto of course followed along playing the part.

When he stepped out into the night his eyes were greeted with the fruits of his labor.

Amidst the screams and chaos unfolding his mutters went unheard to all but himself.

"One village for a world at peace. A small price for salvation."

Fires roared across the small village as several buildings were consumed by fire. Men, women and children ran about in terror, some clutching loved ones or valued treasures.

Some died. Laid low and butchered by animals as the sizeable pack of bandits raged through; cutting down any in their path while dragging and taking everything and anything they deemed of value away; be said value found in material items or even an unfortunate villager.

Already the miners who had not moments ago been enjoying the end to a long day, had thrown themselves into the fray. Doing everything they could to stand before and push back the vile men that had come to destroy and steal their families and livelihood.

A futile effort in truth. While crudely armed and armored, the bandits with their rusted blades and haphazard apparel were still leagues above the mining tools and rough clothes of these simple folk.

Naruto was satisfied. He could not have dreamed a better outcome. This was exactly what he needed to move forward and more. The fires of his sabotage burned hotter and brighter than even the light rain could even hope to begin dousing, illuminating the smoke billowing like they were the very flames of hell itself. Now all that was needed was for him to 'expose' himself.

As it turned out such an action was even needed to be initiated on Naruto's part.

As the last to make a move, the bandits had determined Naruto to be a vulnerable target and so taken the initiative to charge him first.

The first two bandits didn't even survive the initial lunge toward him.

Naruto lashed out with a bar-stool he had brought with him from within the tavern, knocking out the leading bandit, breaking the stool. With the remaining leg Naruto simply threw it at another; bringing the sad individual to a painful end as he drowned on his own blood, a broken wooden leg impaled through his neck.

Naruto didn't wait for the third of the bandits to charge at him. Rushing at the brigand, Naruto slapped aside the clumsy swipe of his blade with the back of his hand and lashed out with a blow of his own. A palm thrust to the center of the man's chest with a brief pulse of Chakra saw to devastating and lethal effect.

The Uzumaki didn't even bother to spare the dead man a glance as he fell to the ground, gaping soundlessly as his heart ruptured from the force of the Chakra enhanced blow.

Instead, the red haired man walked away, treading further into the village, a steady expression on his face.

Naruto felt it worthy of noting, even if only to himself, that the actions taken both tonight and leading up to this night had not been undertaken lightly or without regret. Already Naruto could bear witness to a great deal of death and suffering. It was simply regretful that for the sake of his ambition that such distasteful violence was necessary.

His plan necessitated the deaths and suffering of these people. Their lives were to serve a greater cause than they could ever know.

However. That did not mean that such death could not be avoided.

Naruto flashed through a series of hand seals and with not even a breath or utterance three **Mizi Bunshin** formed at his flank from the rainfall, matching expressions masking their faces.

Naruto merely nodded once and the three clones shot off in different directions.

His clones gone, Naruto refocused his attention to the task before him. His sensory Ninjutsu was already alerting him to the fact that Konoha had become aware of the attack and were rapidly approaching the village, mere minutes away at their current rate of approach.

The Uzumaki let out a steadying breath, closing his eyes for the briefest of moments as he gathered his focus. When they reopened; twin orbs of cold amethyst glared out. And Naruto set out.

In a single movement, he swooped down and scooped up a discarded short sword from one of his victims and shot forward, empty hand already reaching out; seeking the throat of the nearest bandit as he approached.

That one fell to never rise again with a crushed windpipe.

Three swift thrusts saw another fall without a sound, stabbed fatally to the heart, liver and right kidney.

His third victim was decapitated swiftly with a fourth comrade falling victim to the whirlwind of death when Naruto hurled the sword right through his face.

By this point Naruto's actions had been noticed by many of the other rampaging bandits. The old adage of stupidity in numbers proved true when they collectively reached the decision that they stood a chance with how heavily they seemed to outnumber the lone man.

Naruto didn't allow them to act out their perceived advantage. He simply smirked in amusement before taking a single step forward.

The cost came at a price; some measure of pain as he forced Chakra through his desiccated coils. But the result was well worth it in the end.

The bandits all screamed out in terror and futile denial as the ground cracked and cratered under the devastation of his Chakra enhanced step. The fools slipped between crevices of solid rock as the ground sundered beneath them.

Naruto didn't even bother with them after that. He simply turned his attention else where and allowed the remainder of his jutsu to finish its work.

Behind him, the screams were cut off harshly and suddenly when the earth shook before twisting violently; as if a miniature maelstrom had formed within the earth itself.

Naruto's attention was elsewhere. Konoha had arrived and were currently taking out the Bandits at the edge of the village and making progress in working their way inward. At their current rate of progress they would reach his position in under a minute.

Nothing for it then.

The Uzumaki half crouched and shot forward, filling his Chakra coils as much as they could bear in their current state. Within moments another bandit that had been attracted to the mini quake was bleeding out on the ground; his throat gaping open, a building had been forcibly collapsed to block off access to another group and thus provide an escape to a terrified family and three more civilians were collected from another burning wreckage and swiftly delivered to a safe zone that some of the miners had formed near the mine itself.

It was to the sight of a narrow eyed, blood covered Uzumaki Naruto, bent over the body of another brigand, shard of the mans own spine held in a blood drenched hand that the Konoha team arrived to. The team of three Chunnin, all wide eyed, pale and out of breath could only gape in shock and awe at the fearsome sight he presented.

As for Naruto himself. He simply stared at them for a moment, seeming to be judging their entire worth in that moment.

When the silence of that stand off seemed to reach its peak; the rookie Shinobi almost unable to bear the overwhelming atmosphere surrounding the Uzumaki, he spoke.

"Enemy forces are gathering to the south, survivors by the mine."

Naruto rose to stand tall, ignoring the blood dripping from his hands.

"I assume you have a preference?"

XxxXxxXxxX

 **Greetings honored readers!**

 **another update for Zero Chakra Plan. Apologies for the long wait since the last chapter. A lot going on with personal life at the moment has kept me from being able to devote enough time to the development of this story. However! Rest assured that this story is alive and well and will be seen through to its proper and total completion. No hiatus. Not abandoned. Not adopted out.**

 **Additionally yes I know this chapter is quite, small. I do intend to get longer chapters out as the story gets into the thick of things, but as for this chapter in particular; its a transition chapter so not a lot to put in to pad it to a larger size.**

 **Read, review, expect more…..eventually.**

 **ATTENTION READERS!:**

 **Zero Chakra Plan has been stolen and copied by another author on this site. T** **h** **e Infinity Plan by IonianSage has taken my story and all but copied and pasted it as his own. please show your support by reporting his story to the site admins and see if we cant get it taken down. please show your support by continuing to read and review Zero Chakra Plan. spread the word across the land.**

 **So says Ahriman The Exile!**


	8. A New Leaf

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

 ** **A/N before you read:****

 ** **Review please. The now reviews fine in the more motivation we have to update sooner.****

 ** **REVIEW!****

 ** **A couple of things to take note of. First of all myself (Ahriman the Exile) and another writer by the pen-name of Alakrux have officially joined forces with our collaboration stories that we have been working on. As a result my profile has been converted into a colab profile. Zero Chakra Plan and a few others that will be coming out...eventually… are the efforts of the both of us.****

 ** **We are. The Emerald Blight!****

 ** **if stories are posted that are the effort of only one of us it will be detailed as such so you know who wrote what.****

 ** **Additionally there is a new, updated poll on the profile for voting. It is a modification of the previous poll but we have finished fleshing out the individual stories and written a synopsis. Vote for what peaks your interest. One of those choices is our flagship story so to speak that we have and are putting the most time and effort into.****

 ** **Apologies for the time between updates regarding Zero Chakra Plan. It is not dead which is why we have this chapter as proof of life.****

 **XxxX**

( _Previously_ )

 _As for Naruto himself. He simply stared at them for a moment, seeming to be judging their entire worth in that moment._

 _When the silence of that stand off seemed to reach its peak; the rookie Shinobi almost unable to bear the overwhelming atmosphere surrounding the Uzumaki, he spoke._

" _Enemy forces are gathering to the south, survivors by the mine."_

 _Naruto rose to stand tall, ignoring the blood dripping from his hands._

" _I assume you have a preference?"_

 _XxxXxxXxxX_

Konoha was impressive, no denying it. The massive walls and equally huge red gate that marked the village's primary entry was just as he remembered from archived images back at Uzu. In fact to compare the pictures to what had met his eyes as he passed through them; the real thing was far greater.

The Bandit attack on the mining village had been dealt with swiftly with the arrival of the Konoha Border Patrol. Naruto's performance had already damaged the will of the raiders and with the sudden appearance of a team of uniformed Shinobi, those that didn't flee were cut down like animals.

It was with some measure of relief that Naruto did learn that the small settlement suffered little in terms of property damage and loss of life. The attack that he had orchestrated upon those simple folk had been his doing and while necessary for the larger goal, it was still regrettable. There were already countless lives staining his hands, the opportunity to lessen the addition of even more blood was a welcome one.

With the village secure and the threat neutralised Naruto was able to fully place himself under the attention of the Konoha Team. Thankfully despite his clan having been declared practically extinct by the world at large it was still relatively common knowledge amongst the shinobi of the leaf village regarding the Uzumaki Clan and the relationship once shared between the masters of Fuuinjutsu and Konoha. There had been more than one pair of disbelieving expressions when he had introduced himself.

Naruto had given them a suitable explanation regarding his presence; simply illustrating that since the fall of his homeland he had been left adrift and spent the years wandering without aim or home.

A few subtle and directed comments and queries soon had one of the Konoha ninja; the mission leader most likely, offering an escort back to their village when their assignment was concluded.

' _Konoha was and still is a friend to the Uzumaki Clan, if an Uzumaki is in need then Konoha can lend aid._ '

Naruto had bit his tongue at the temptation to send back a biting comment regarding the lack of support during the Second War when Uzu truly needed it. Along with the fact that in the years since the fall of his home, Konoha had not so much as put in a single man hour into searching for any displaced Uzumaki clan members.

Instead he had offered a token resistance to the offer; feigning insecurity at the proposal, playing the part of an indecisive party.

The idiots had chomped down on that like a starving wolf. Urging him to come to Konoha with them, boasting about the security of the village, the opportunities there and the lifestyle afforded to its inhabitants.

Naruto had asked to shelf the discussion; claiming that he needed to get to helping restore order to the village and left after inviting them to the bar the next night. Several hours of body disposal and putting out a few fires and the Uzumaki retired for the night before resuming the next day with clearing wreckage and collecting the fallen for burial.

Konoha had remained on sight to assist in relief efforts; an act that half surprised him considering it was not a detail regarding their current posting but accepted it nonetheless. When nightfall came and they made an appearance at the bar and dropped their final 'temptation' for travelling to Konoha.

Uzumaki Kushina.

At the back of his mind Naruto had allowed himself a secret smile in victory. Everything he needed. A reason to travel to Konoha that was beyond reproach; the Uzumaki family loyalty well known to the higher ups of the Konoha government. An alibi from the military of the village for his motivations and a viable escort that would see him through initial security.

A week later and the expected relief team arrived. A short briefing to inform the replacement team of the bandit raid with instructions to keep watch over local activity for retaliation, or any follow up attacks on neighbouring villages and Naruto had finally started his way to Konoha.

It hadn't taken long to travel from the border to Konoha proper. While he did simulate fatigue accordingly the frequent stops and layovers at nightfall were more due to the shortcomings of the Konoha Chunnin really. He allowed them the belief that it was his lack of endurance, but the reality of the matter didn't change the fact that he could have left them in the dust at any time of his choosing.

True to expectations he had been able to bypass the checkpoint inspection at the main gate to Konoha proper with his Chunnin escort attesting to his credibility as well as relative importance. He was an Uzumaki after all.

Walking through the village en-route to the central tower that housed their Kage's office, Naruto could see that repairs, while nearing completion, were still underway. It seemed that Rin had underestimated the sheer scope of damage the rampaging Kyuubi had unleashed two years ago. There were a few empty lots where collapsed structures had been cleared away and quite a few tarps and sheets of plywood covering half collapsed roofs and boarding up exposed sections of wall.

Civilian life seemed to be going on more or less as nothing had happened. Naruto could see the faint expression of grief and lingering pain every so often to give evidence to the still prevailing effect the great Biju had over the village, but for the most part; Konoha had seemed to recovered nicely.

"Alright Uzumaki-san, my team and I need to report in for de-briefing." The Chunnin patrol leader spoke up, drawing the seemingly awed Uzumaki's focus before handing a sealed scroll. "If you will just head inside and present this to administration on the first floor you will be directed to the Hokage's office. I must remind you, please be respectful before Sandaime-sama. He is quite laid back in regards to most things but, well he is our Hokage so-"

"I understand." Naruto interrupted with a reassuring smile, taking the scroll and looking down to it absently. "I will be sure to mention your involvement when I see him."

The entire Patrol team let out their own grins; each no doubt thinking of the gains to be had in being accredited to the discovery and retrieval of an Uzumaki.

A brief farewell and Naruto parted ways with his escort, opening and walking through the large glass doors into the Hokage Tower while the three Chunnin departed to their own separate destination.

Things were progressing according to plan.

XxxX

Three hours.

Three. Fucking. Hours.

He had spoken to the clerk at the Administration desk on the first floor lobby as instructed. Presented the scroll along with a brief introduction of who he was along with his wish to meet with the Hokage. He had then been directed to a side room where a security team had given a cursory pat down for weaponry. A couple of storage scrolls, kunai pouch and his supply bag had been removed to be held in a security box to be returned upon his departure.

An escort several floors up and he was directed to a waiting room and informed that the ' _Hokage will see you shortly_ '.

They had even left an ANBU guard to watch over him and keep in in the room. And that was three kami-damned hours ago.

Naruto had already determined that the Hokage was not in any kind of prolonged meeting given that in the time he had been waiting no less than six times did Konoha Shinobi approach their Kage's office and hold a meeting with the man while he still sat there waiting.

He had attempted to alleviate his boredom by striking up a conversation with his ANBU guard. But that had quickly led him to wonder how it would be to talk to a blank wall with the sheer lack of any attention to Shinobi showed him beyond the core of his duties as over-watch. The masked bastard hadn't given him anything, not even so much as an excuse toward their inability to talk with him.

The ever ticking, ever taunting clock soon enough passed the half our mark into three and a half hours of time wasted with Naruto fighting the urge to tap his foot against the ground impatiently when the far door opened and a young, moderately attractive woman poked her face through.

"The Hokage will see you now."

Naruto's eye twitched in annoyance. No ' _sorry for keeping you waiting_ '? Not even an offer for a glass of water? They had to be doing this on purpose.

Nonetheless the Uzumaki stood up and strode through the still open door, pointedly ignoring the ever silent ANBU operative. The assistant directed him across the hall and through another door and mere moment later he was seated before perhaps one of the most powerful men across several countries. Ignoring himself of course.

The Third Hokage; Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Ah my apologies for keeping you waiting so long Uzumaki-san." Sarutobi offered with a kind smile, pushing aside both the scroll he had presented so very long ago along with a small stack of papers. "I hope you can understand that I felt it prudent to read the report from my Shinobi that brought you to Konoha before seeing you. It is not every day an Uzumaki appears after all, especially nowadays."

Naruto returned the smile before nodding in agreement. "Of course. I do hope that nothing bad comes down on that team for bringing me here so suddenly. I would hate to think myself responsible."

"Of course not." The Hokage waved a hand reassuringly. "While you would be correct in that it is not exactly the correct procedure in bringing what is essentially a foreign Shinobi into the village, there must be allowances to be made when the individual in question is an Uzumaki; an ally. Rest assured, if anything they will receive a commendation for their actions."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into his chair a bit, nodding thankfully at the old man.

"So from what I have been able to see in both the report along with the introductory scroll you provided, you have been largely a transient since the tragedy of what happened at Uzushiogakure."

Naruto noted the expression of sadness on the old man's face and resisted the almost natural urge to scoff at the man and slap the pity away. Instead he simply nodded in a subdued manner, turning his gaze away from the man briefly as if in reflection.

"Such a dark day for us all. We at Konoha lost a dear friend and ally and for survivors such as yourself; you lost so much more. Please accept my condolences, however belated they may be." Sarutobi offered.

Naruto said nothing in return, simply offering a strained smile and letting out a subdued breath.

"But to move to current events, I understand that my Shinobi were able to convince you to come here, to try and find a home in our village?"

"I suppose so. When Uzu was attacked I stayed behind to try and buy time for the civilians to evacuate. I don't remember all that much of what happened to be honest, just that I woke up under a collapsed building and, well everyone was gone." Naruto explained. "I tried to rebuild. To get back some sense of the life I had before but it was just too much. Too many ghosts."

"So you left."

Naruto nodded. "I was worried that our attackers would try to hunt down survivors. I couldn't risk hiding in any village with a large enough population to disappear within and any place small enough would notice my arrival so I lived mostly off the land taking the occasional civilian job in farmlands if I needed the money."

"Shinobi lifestyle was not an option as a Bounty Hunter?" The Sandaime asked. "Despite their criminal nature it is well known that even Missing-Nin can still life their lifestyle outside of the village system."

Naruto shrugged. "Even with the Second War over, I felt that as an Uzumaki I would find myself more likely the bounty than the hunter. Combined with my condition, it was not something I felt free market clients would find employable."

"Your condition?"

"I was badly injured during the siege at Uzu." Naruto explained. "As a result I have found that my Chakra coils have become damaged. I am unable to channel as much Chakra as I once could. Perhaps a third of my former capacity if I had to put a number on it."

The Hokage showed a surprised look on his face at this. No doubt somewhat impressed that even with such a condition affecting him; the Uzumaki seated before him had lasted so long out in the world.

"For that kind of damage to take place you must have put up quite the resistance during the attack." The old man commented.

Naruto just shrugged. "By the time of our fall I was a full ranked Jounin with all the prerequisite capabilities required of the station for an Uzumaki."

"And how would you rank yourself today, knowing as you do the details of your condition?" Came the following question.

"Jounin or above."

Sarutobi cocked an eyebrow at this. Not sure whether to consider this the typical boast he had come to expect of an Uzumaki considering his interactions with a younger Kushina. Or if it was the level, steady judgement of a veteran.

Naruto saw the doubt in the Hokage and offered a rare, genuine smirk. "Just because I find myself unable to use as much Chakra at any one time as I used to does not I'm weaker for it. I have had a lot of time to adapt to my situation and hone my skills in spite of the limitations of what Ninjutsu I can unleash."

"If that was the case then why have you not attempted to find a place within one of the great villages before now?" Sarutobi asked. "Any one of the five would have gladly taken you into their arms. Regardless of your physical limitations."

"Three of those five were responsible for the massacre of my entire clan, one was a neutral party with leanings toward hostility and the fifth; Konoha? Until recently all I had was that you were once a friend to my clan."

Sarutobi nodded in understanding. "You did not trust us."

Naruto waved a hand in absent disagreement. "I did not know you. Jounin I might have been. I was not even close to a high enough position to be brought in on the details of the relationship between Uzu and Konoha."

"And now?"

Naruto was silent for a few seconds, his eyes glazing over as if lost in thought as a soft smile made its way into his expression. "Sixteen years. I have been alone for sixteen long, lonely years. I tried to find my family but none of our evacuation points showed even the slightest trace of having been used. While travelling I tried to search for any survivors like myself only to find nothing. I was resigned; I would never find my family again. But then Konoha appeared. These Ninja tell me to come to Konoha, that it's safe and welcoming. And most of all; home to an Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki Kushina." Sarutobi confirmed.

Naruto nodded, his smile growing larger. "Uzumaki Kushina. Not a survivor per say from what I have been told, but a clan-member that was already present here in Konoha at the time of the siege. How I wish I had known this years ago if only to have escaped the life I have lived until now."

"A sentiment that I can assure you Kushina-chan returns in this matter." Sarutobi replied gently. "I can tell you she was inconsolable for weeks when news of what happened reached us. In fact had she not been under careful watch in concern for her well being, she may well have tried to journey to Uzu herself to search for survivors."

Naruto let out a half laugh at this. It definitely fit in with the usual Uzumaki line of thinking. Rush into things eyes wide shut and fists swinging and damn the consequences.

"Then I suppose I owe you a dept of thanks for keeping her here where she was safe then Hokage-sama." The redhead offered with a bow of his head. "It would seem that Konoha does live up to the regard my clan elders held for you all. If I am indeed allowed to take this village as my home, then I will consider myself lucky indeed if I find myself similarly placed under such care."

Sarutobi smiled widely and nodded in agreement as he straightened up in his chair, reaching into a desk drawer and pulling out a small stack of empty forms. "Well I can tell you at this time that providing you with citizenship within Konoha is a non-issue. The Shodai Hokage placed it within our village charter that any and all Uzumaki enjoy duel citizenship with our village at all times regardless of whether they have previously been here or not."

Naruto nodded in understanding, watching patiently as the Hokage penned down basic details into the forms. Name, age, village of origin and other such details that he had already provided the patrol team when they had been travelling from the mining town to Konoha.

"As for your application into our Shinobi program, should you wish it that is, while still relatively simple it is a mite more involved than simply stamping an approval onto a form. As ruling Hokage I can approve your admittance into the program but only at an entry level. Given your age, apparent experience and professed capability I can on your behalf submit you for conditional testing."

"Oh?"

Sarutobi nodded, setting one form aside and working on another. "A panel consisting of high ranked Jounin, myself, and a small number of seated council members from the Shinobi sect of the Konoha ruling council would oversee a competency test. You would be required to prove your capability as a Shinobi in a controlled spar, the details of which would be determined one the day itself. Should you prove yourself your rank would be determined by said panel and you would be placed on a provisional period of no less than three months pending final review."

"Understandable. Would I be correct in assuming that it would be best that I seek accommodations at a hotel rather than expect to be allowed housing at the Uzumaki compound?"

This had Sarutobi wince. "Ah, about that. I can assume you are aware of the Kyuubi attack we suffered two years previous?" When Naruto nodded slowly he continued. "Unfortunately one of the many buildings to be damaged beyond safe repair was the Uzumaki family compound. With the sheer number of repairs village wide I am afraid that the compound is still destroyed."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this. "And where then, has Kushina been living in the two years since?"

"She owns a modest apartment within the village. Of course it was gratefully donated to her by the village as reparations for our an ongoing inability to see to the restoration of the Uzumaki clan compound." The Hokage quickly put appeased, seeing the angry concern in the Uzumaki's expression for his clansman's well being. "Her responsibilities have kept her inactive as a Shinobi since the Kyuubi attack on our village but Kushiha is well financed through the various Uzumaki holdings within the village as well as a modest ongoing pension from the Shinobi Program."

Naruto eased back in response to this, satisfied with the explanation in that his family was being taken care of. "Very well. Now then, would you recommend a hotel for me Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi hesitated for a moment before reaching into his desk and pulling out a slip of paper and jotting down a short message before stamping it with the Hokage seal. Holding it out to the curious Uzumaki he spoke up. "Speak to the clerk down in the lobby and she will direct you to the village's department of residency. Give them this and they will take care of you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow curiously as he took the paper, folding it absently as he glanced from it back to the older ninja. "Thank you. Should I make an appointment while I am in the lobby to see you again in a few weeks time regarding my application and testing into the Program?"

"No need for that. I will have a messenger sent to you with a date when everything is ready for your test." Sarutobi explained. "In the meantime I will have an introductory packet sent for you to go over. It will mostly be information regarding in-village policies that apply to Konoha Shinobi and any other laws you should be aware of. Also included are a few forms for you to go over and sign as well as directions to facilities such as training ground access and provisional supplies."

Naruto nodded in understanding. It had been quite some time but he did recall something quite similar being presented to him back in the academy in Uzu. All students in their final year were required to go over and sign agreements that bound them to their village in service as well as seal-bound oaths that swore their silence regarding any and all revealed village secrets. It was doubtful that Konoha would have anything quite on that level to protect their secrets considering the seal-binding scrolls were an incredibly closely held Uzumaki secret, but it was still something that would be enforced with their own methods.

"Of course. Thank you for your time in this Hokage-sama and for welcoming me into your village. I look forward to my future endeavours within Konoha as a citizen and Shinobi."

With that, Naruto rose from his chair and bowed toward the gently smiling Hokage before turning and walking out of the room. The moment the door closed behind him, the red haired Uzumaki afforded himself the smallest of smirks; a barely there twitch of the corner of his mouth.

All too easy.

XxxX

The administration clerk back in the Lobby had been slightly more welcoming with his second visit. It would seem that the sight of him returning from meeting the Hokage without an armed escort had proven that he wasn't just some vagabond despite what his simple, worn clothing would have suggested.

The ANBU on duty returned his equipment to him and a brief directing toward the Department of Residency thanks to the Lobby clerk; Naruto was on his way.

The Department itself was naturally not located within the Hokage Tower but in a modest building a few blocks down an adjacent road. A multi-story building it saw to most if not all the various departments and aspects of the civilian sect of the village from housing and land to taxation and foreign trade.

Department of Residency located on floor three, a quick talk with the attending administrator saw Naruto quickly in the office of the head of the department thanks to the Hokage's Seal clearly marked on the paperwork supplied to him.

It seemed that Sarutobi had decided against allowing Naruto to stay at one of the village's hotels and instead given instruction on housing to be provided for him completely rent free and above board by accord of the still valid treaty between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan.

Naruto could have sworn he saw a flash of darkness cross over the visage of the admin when the head of the department had exclaimed in surprise at his identity as an Uzumaki, but simply filed it away for future consideration in favor of keeping his focus on the man responsible for his future home. The Department head was far more openly welcoming and pleased, hiding no negativity or reservations behind his joy at seeing the possibility of the Uzumaki returning. As it turned out, the older gentleman had been born in Konoha shortly after the First Great Shinobi War and grown up seeing the Uzumaki dignitaries roaming around the village. He even remembered the day when Kushina herself had been brought to the village and seeing the head of the Konoha Branch clan; Uzumaki Mito welcoming the then young girl.

There was a small amount of paperwork to sign; mostly to recognise that Naruto was taking ownership of a flat within the village and to register it in his name. Water and power were taken care of as well as a brief discussion regarding any options Naruto would like in the matter of home insurance. Thankfully it was pre-furnished so there was no need to attend to the matter of needing furniture, all that remained when he left was to shop for groceries and perhaps get some more appropriate clothing than the work clothes he had been wearing up until now.

It took some time, perhaps a few hours to get everything. The shopping district of the village was quite extensive; fitting given that Konoha boasted itself to be the greatest of all the Hidden villages in the world. To some small measure of annoyance it took a bit of thrown about money to convince the store owners that he could actually pay for what he wanted who had mostly chosen to simply disregard his finances after seeing his apparel. A change of clothing later saw Naruto going about his grocery shopping wearing a pair of black cargo pants, boots and a dark blue long sleeve shirt with the crimson swirl of the Uzumaki clan symbol centered on the back.

The Apartment itself was, nice. Modest and not excessively large; it was for the most part an open-plan flat with a closed off bathroom and a door leading off to the single bedroom. The furnishings were well maintained and new, most likely having only recently been installed following the Kyuubi attack and thanks to the work of the Department head; the power was already on.

He had just put all his groceries away, sorting between the fridge, freezer and pantry when he heard a soft knock on the door.

To this Naruto simply cocked his head to the side in mild confusion. It couldn't be the Hokage. The old man had no reason to need to speak with him so early after their meeting and if that were the case the Hokage would have dispatched a messenger instead of coming in person. And whomever was at his door possessed far too much Chakra to be something as low levelled as a mere courier.

His eyes narrowed as his mind went over other possibilities. To Konoha he was still an unknown so there was no reason why someone like a Jounin would come to his door; for good or ill. This village did boast a trio of powerful Shinobi titled 'Sannin'. The Senju Princess Tsunade had by his information left the village following the end of the Third War; a fallout with her home after the deaths of her fiance and younger brother according to Nagato's information. The Toad Sannin Jiraiya was out of the village. Which left only the Snake Sannin; Orochimaru currently within the Village.

Orochimaru from his understanding was a Shinobi to be careful of. Not out of concern regarding the man's power or combat capabilities. No it was his mental prowess. Naruto could think of no reason why someone like him would come to his door, even less so to explain _how_ the man would even know he was in the village in the first place. But given what he had planned for the world he could not afford to exclude the possibility of premature discovery; regardless of how incredibly remote a possibility it was.

As quick as the sudden burst of paranoia came it departed. With a shake of his head Naruto smacked a hand against his forehead softly swearing to himself as he approached the door.

"Not even a day in this place and I'm acting like a crazy person." He muttered under his breath.

Swiftly opening the door, the forming smile on his face; ready to greet his visitor, stopped and froze on his face. His eyes widening in surprise.

His wide eyed expression was a perfect match for the wide eyed, open mouthed expression of the young woman standing just outside, hand partially raised to knock again as she saw him.

Long red hair, violet eyes. He knew this face.

"A-Ano. Hi there. I-I heard that someone had moved in next door and came to welcome you to the neighbourhood. My name is Uzumaki Kushina."

XxxXxxXxxX

Review please. The now reviews fine in the more motivation we have to update sooner.

REVIEW!

 ** **A couple of things to take note of. First of all myself (Ahriman the Exile) and another writer by the pen-name of Alakrux have officially joined forces with our collaboration stories that we have been working on. As a result my profile has been converted into a colab profile. Zero Chakra Plan and a few others that will be coming out...eventually… are the efforts of the both of us.****

 ** **We are. The Emerald Blight!****

 ** **if stories are posted that are the effort of only one of us it will be detailed as such so you know who wrote what.****

 ** **Additionally there is a new, updated poll on the profile for voting. It is a modification of the previous poll but we have finished fleshing out the individual stories and written a synopsis. Vote for what peaks your interest. One of those choices is our flagship story so to speak that we have and are putting the most time and effort into.****

 ** **Apologies for the time between updates regarding Zero Chakra Plan. It is not dead which is why we have this chapter as proof of life.****


	9. Uzumaki

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the collective works of Naruto, Avengers or anything that may come into the following **Fan made** piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

XxxXxxXxxX

 _ **Previously on 's 'Zero Chakra Plan.'**_

 _Swiftly opening the door, the forming smile on his face; ready to greet his visitor, stopped and froze on his face. His eyes widening in surprise._

 _His wide eyed expression was a perfect match for the wide eyed, open mouthed expression of the young woman standing just outside, hand partially raised to knock again as she saw him._

 _Long red hair, violet eyes. He knew this face._

" _A-Ano. Hi there. I-I heard that someone had moved in next door and came to welcome you to the neighbourhood. My name is Uzumaki Kushina."_

XxxXxxXxxX

 _ **And now the conclusion.**_

Naruto blinked in surprise, staring at the younger Uzumaki who was looking back up at him with equal if not greater wonder, her gaze flicking from his eyes that matched her own to his own deep red hair that was currently tied up in a short ponytail behind his head.

He had not been anticipating searching for, let alone meeting his clan-member just yet. He had intended to wait a couple of days minimum; get acclimatised to Konoha and settle into his new home before heading out and approaching Kushina. He was not expecting for her to literally knock on his front door and reveal that she was his new neighbor.

Sarutobi had to have had a hand in this 'accident of happenstance'.

The male Uzumaki licked his lips absently, bringing his thoughts back to the present situation when he noticed Kushina shifting on the spot, her own mind swirling with thoughts of possibilities and fearful hope.

"Ah, thank you for your welcome." Naruto finally spoke with a quick bow, smiling softly as he straightened. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, it is good to finally meet you Kushina-chan."

Kushina's eyes widened at the introduction, her mouth opening and shutting soundlessly several times as she tried to speak but fell short. Naruto almost found the entire thing amusing as he could swear he could see sparks shooting out from her head as she short circuited on the information.

"It would seem that the Hokage deigned to play matchmaker of sorts when he provided me with my new apartment. I was not expecting to meet you so quickly." Naruto explained.

Kushina physically shook her head to clear the storm of her thoughts before returning her gaze to look up to her elder clansman; eyes gleaming with tears and joy.

"Y-you, you're Uzumaki?" She spoke up, her voice thick with emotion and the last shreds of doubt.

Naruto nodded gently. "I am. I was fortunate enough to survive the siege of our home. I only recently heard from one of the Konoha Shinobi that one of my family was still alive and here."

"And here you are."

Naruto smiled wider, the lingering tension and alertness of his previous paranoia leaving him as he felt the profound relief and happiness of finally meeting one of the few remaining Uzumaki members he knew of after all these years. "Yes. Here I am."

A split second later Naruto was forced a few steps back when a five foot tall blur of red slammed into his stomach, arms reaching around to cling at him tightly. A brief expression of surprise crossed over his face before it smoothed out into a soft bittersweet smile as he wrapped his own arms around her and held her to him as he felt her body shake as she sobbed quietly into his shirt.

"I'm here. it's okay."

XxxX

It took some time to calm the emotional Uzumaki down after the reality had hit her that she was not the only Uzumaki left. In that time Naruto guided her back into his new home and sat her down on his sofa while a carefully made _Mizu_ _Bunshin_ busied itself in the kitchen; setting a kettle to boil and making tea.

Naruto had continued to sit with Kushina and soothed her out of her tearful relief and joy, running his hand along the back of her head and smoothing her hair gently as he allowed her to let out all the sadness and grief she had kept to herself for all these years since Uzu's fall. It had been hard enough for him having been there to see it first hand. He could not imagine how it must have been for her to have heard about it third hand after the fact and to be completely unable to do anything to save her family.

She was an Uzumaki, just like him. When Family was everything; it was beyond painful to lose that family. She must have felt so alone here in Konoha.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes the younger woman had managed to calm down enough to let go of him and wipe away the tears.

When the clone delivered the tea and departed; to dispel safely in the apartment's bathroom, Naruto poured out a cup for himself and Kushina and offered it to her silently, taking his own and leaning back. Giving her the time she needed.

Surprisingly it was a comfortable silence that the two Uzumaki found themselves in as Naruto calmly sipped at his tea while Kushina fidgeted with her own while sneaking looks over to him before quickly returning her eyes to look down at her reflection within her own drink.

"Y-you were at Uzu? W-when the village, I mean during the, ano..." She finally spoke up, still currently staring at her own reflection.

"Yeah, I was." Naruto said with a drawn out sigh. "I was a part of the village's Shinobi program during that time. By, by the time we learned an attack was imminent I was actually Jounin ranked. I still remember the day the Uzukage presented me with the flak jacket."

Kushina looked up to him in time to see the half glazed over expression on the man's face as the memories of that terrible time came to him.

"Three great villages. Three." Naruto reached up to knead at his forehead with a hand. "Never in the history of the nations has such a massive force ever rallied that much hate against a single enemy. Iwa, Kumo and Kiri. We were hit from all sides."

"It wasn't much, but we did have some measure of forewarning of the coming attack. Just enough to begin evacuations of the civilians while a missive was dispatched to our allies; a call for aid."

"Our clan sent for help?"

Naruto nodded, gazing into his tea for a moment before letting out a long, drawn out sigh, his shoulders slumping from the memories. "A dispatch was send out prior to the attack. From my understanding out fastest and most experienced messenger hawk flew out amidst a flock of over a dozen decoys. All we had to do was hold out long enough for our allies to arrive. We were assured that the friends of the Uzumaki would come."

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

 _The Village was a maelstrom of activity. Fear and anticipation of what was to come hanging thick in the air. Naruto still silently seethed at the Uzukage's decision. The mistake the fool had made in his idealistic refusal to make the difficult decision to target the homes of the enemies that were coming to destroy them all. How could he not see? Three villages marched toward them each filled with thousands of men and women committed to seeing Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan burn. It was not only logical, but tactically prudent to take on a similar mindset and see to it that the enemies will was damaged before the battle could even truly begin._

 _Three villages. Three teams sent to each one with enough explosive seals to cripple them and each army would, if not retreat to tend to the attack, arrive a morally weaker and lesser force._

 _But they called it genocide. He would call it preemptive justice. They should be showing these foreign Shinobi how foolish it was to even consider to besiege and destroy the home of the Uzumaki. Instead the Uzukage would expect him to hold to 'honor' and meet these invaders at their full strength._

 _The redhead shook his head, gritting his teeth harshly. He could not afford to continue to hold to these thoughts. Look forward. The decision had been made. The Uzukage had decided how Uzu was to respond to this coming attack and as a loyal Shinobi who wore the symbol of both his clan and village, he would carry out the orders of his superior as expected. Regardless of how short sighted he felt the old man was being._

 _The civilian population was still being evacuated. None of the higher ups had made mention of it to the public and Naruto himself had kept quite when he noticed it himself. But, at the rate the evacuation was progressing; only eighty percent of the population would be safely outside the village by the time the enemy came._

 _There was a flicker of several shadows that passed over him that saw the sixteen year old Jounin come to a stop to raise his head and look skyward. Despite himself he felt a glimmer of hope; desperate hope for the sake of his friends, his family and his home when he saw several messenger hawks soared at speed overhead, each and every one spreading out to fly beyond the village. Each carrying the message. The plea._

' _Help us.'_

XxxXxxXxxX

Naruto's eyes narrowed as very real anger and outrage surged through him briefly. Kushina flinched when his cup shattered in his hand. "A week went by. Our barrier Shinobi sacrificed themselves one after the other just to keep our defences in place; to keep the enemy from breaching out walls. My best friend gave his life with his squad just to keep them out long enough so that we could be saved. A week and still our Uzukage assured us; 'help is coming.' 'hold on just a little bit longer, they'll be here soon'."

XxxXxxXxxX

 _True to expectations, the allied forces of Kiri, Kumo and Iwa crashed simultaneously upon Uzu like a terrible wave upon a lonely rock. From all sides they hit. Kiri from the East, Kumo from the North and Iwa from the West. Despite the relative preparedness of the impending attack it was still not enough to save the last wave of civilians that had been mid evacuation from the village when they had arrived. To the last man, woman and child they were all slaughtered by the united foreign Ninja._

 _True to Naruto's fear; not all of the civilians had been able to escape the village in time. Without even taking into account the poor souls that had been caught and butchered while trying to flee over eight thousand civilians were still trapped in Uzu. Merchants, fishermen, families and children of Uzu Shinobi. All trapped and doomed to near certain death._

 _It all hinged upon the arrival of Konoha. Long standing and closely held friends and allies of not just Uzu itself but the Uzumaki clan as a whole. It was without even an iota of a doubt in even the most terrified of Uzu Ninja that Konoha would come to their aid. The message had been sent, even at its slowest speed the great village of Senju Hashirama would have learned of their plea several hours before the three invading villages could even begin their attack. They would come. And together the undeniable might of Uzu and Konoha would remind these villains their folly._

 _Naruto was running support. The defensive barrier that surrounded Uzu; the single most powerful piece of Fuuinjutsu the Uzumaki Clan had ever fabricated, was holding strong._

 _Carved deep within the ever square inch of stone that built the Great Wall and maintained and reinforced by the Barrier Division at Uzu's heart, the wall not only repelled Chakra; making it impossible for the enemy to use Chakra to scale it, but it broke down elemental Chakra to deny Ninjutsu. Its sheer height saw to the prevention of conventional means of climbing such as kunai and rope._

 _Defensive teams were already in place at the walls summit, keyed into the sealing matrices to allow them usage of their Chakra while within the walls field of effect, for the purpose of preventing the opposing Ninja from building any form of ramp or construct to see them over the wall._

 _Naruto's team's job at this time during the siege was simple but key: run supplies to the defensive teams to keep them alert and capable. Assist the remaining civilians into fallout shelters throughout the village. Ready and prepare for when the siege would break at Konoha's arrival and Uzu would take the fight beyond the walls and to the enemy._

 _Naruto greatly anticipated that moment. The moment when the men and women of Konohagakure would arrive and provide the chance for Uzu to leave the safety of the Wall and make them all regret ever crawling out of the pits they came from._

 _But, then days passed._

 _First one. Then two. By the third casualties first began to mount. The Barrier Division had held on admirably in maintaining the Wall's great seal; swapping out members who showed signs of fatigue and allowing them to rest to later take over when another comrade showed signs of weakness. Unfortunately it was an ever deteriorating system. It inevitably came to a point when there was not enough time to allow for full recovery before swapping out which ultimately resulted in the Final Protocol: in which the Division no longer substituted for recovery. They continued until death._

 _Naruto cried that day. Cried and swore at the world. His Uncle was on the wall; a part of the Defensive teams and his best friend; Hitoshi was a member of the Barrier Division. His friend would die with his Uncle soon to follow and he was helpless to change these facts._

 _He ignored the pathetic shouts of the Uzukage. The asinine old man who had not stopped in bolstering the moral of those around him that it was only a matter of time. Konoha was due to arrive at any moment. Hold off just a bit longer and soon the siege, the war, would be over._

 _Naruto could only ignore it as naive ramblings of someone too blind to see reality for what it was._

 _Konoha had not come. Konoha would not come._

 _They were, alone._

XxxXxxXxxX

Naruto dropped the shattered fragments of his teacup into a waste bin before moving over to the sink, washing off the lingering remnants of his tea from his hands as he looked briefly at Kushina.

"The Barrier Division held out for just over a week. Nine days, thirteen hours and fifty seven minutes to be exact. But, still they fell. To the very last they poured their very lives into holding the wall up. Despite my grief, my anger that surrounds what happened to my, to our home. I still feel nothing but pride when I think of my friend and those brave people who sacrificed themselves so willingly."

"When the last of the Barrier Division died it still took another day for the barrier seal to fail. And following that, even in spite of its weakness, the defensive teams held it for a further 36 hours. We made them pay for the Wall though. For ever member of the Defensive Teams that fell a score of the enemies fell first. 180 Uzu died that day. My Uncle was among them."

Kushina's eyes widened at that detail. It had to be obvious that the loses the older Uzumaki had suffered during the siege would be great and incredibly personal, but still, to hear him speak of the deaths of his family. It did not have any less of an impact.

"When the wall fell the invasion fell to a more traditional siege. The enemy had to content with the might of our forces and familiarity with the landscape which in turn forced them to hit and run tactics. In cooperation the three villages staggered their attacks so that at all times we were forced on the defensive. Day and night."

XxxXxxXxxX

 _It had been several days since the fall of the Wall. Since the deaths of not only his best friend in all of Uzu, but the deaths of his Uncle as well. Naruto had swiftly been transferred to the front lines and out of support. Alongside a number of squads, Naruto had been posted to the west of the village, where Iwagakure was attacking from. At first it had been relatively easy to predict a pattern to the attacks of the three villages; to know and foresee when and where the next attack would come from. But after two days the pattern changed._

 _Uzu had been caught unawares by the change in the attack pattern. Majority of their forces had gathered to the east to ward of Kiri's attack. But instead, Iwa had struck._

 _An unacceptable number of casualties fell far too quick from the initial stage of Iwa's surprise attack. Naruto had watched wide eyed and horrified when a young Kunoichi of only twelve had been swallowed by the earth itself._

 _Seeing that split second expression of resigned hopelessness on her face; the silent knowledge that she was going to die and there was nothing that could stop it changed something in Naruto. It was like something just snapped inside him when he saw those terrified eyes before they were pulled beneath the earth._

 _Naruto ducked under a kunai sweep from behind suddenly, planting his hands on the ground as he snapped his legs out behind him, landing a solid kick into the mid section of the attacking Iwa Ninja. Catching the kunai the enemy Shinobi had dropped from the force of his kick Naruto flicked his wrist sending it flying after the Ninja to impale deep into the man's forehead with a sickening thud._

 _Not even waiting to confirm the kill Naruto immediately turned his attention to his next target. Lunging forward the enraged Uzumaki grabbed another Ninja by the back of the neck, clenching his hand tightly and twisted, snapping his neck before slapping an explosive tag onto the back of the corpses flak jacket. Activating the tags timer he threw him to the side, right into a large flying boulder. The boulder shattered from the force of the detonation; saving the trio of Uzu Ninja that had been unaware of their impending death._

 _Three deaths later and Naruto was still on the move. Unlike his comrades he performed no Ninjutsu, his hands, feet and weapons lashing out with deadly efficiency all the while pouring more and more Chakra into the pit of his stomach, kneading it constantly as more and more Chakra was added into the mix._

 _Pressing himself down flat to the ground he avoided a stream of mud fired his way before slapping another explosive tag on the ground beneath him and pushing off with his hands, shooting several feet forward to headbutt the stomach of another Ninja. A quick activation and the tag detonated, killing the Iwa Shinobi that had been preparing to pull him underground. Reaching for one of his own kunai, when he felt the pouch to be empty; he quickly pulled out a shuriken. Slipping two on his fingers he backhanded the Shinobi he had headbutted across the face as he found his feet, gouging deeply into the man's face and carving out one of his eyes. Another flick of his wrist saw one shuriken slice through the mutilated man's neck, severing an artery. The second shuriken passed by to narrowly miss the dodging Ninja behind; only carving a deep but ultimately superficial cut along the side of his face and taking out a piece of his left ear._

 _By now Naruto had managed to advance close enough to the wall that he was in line with the remaining Uzu defenders, only the invading Iwa Shinobi stood before him._

 _Taking a solid step forward he snapped out a powerful kick into a charging Shinobi, sending the invader sailing back into his fellows before pulling one last massive surge of Chakra into his stomach and bringing his hands up._

 _Half a dozen hand seals later and Naruto unleashed hell._

" _ **Suiton: Senshokuko! (Water Style: Thousand Feeding Sharks)** "_

 _A massive torrent of water spewed forth from Naruto's mouth, forming an enormous tidal wave nearly fifty feet in height in mere seconds. Before the wave could even advance more than a few feet the wave gathered and formed into thousands of blue and white sharks._

 _Within moments the only thing left of the closest Iwa Shinobi was blood that was swiftly washed away as the Tsunami crashed through. The shattered Wall on either side of the massive Ninjutsu kept it contained within a confined area, only adding to its lethality; effectively pressurising the jutsu to give it more potency as it crashed into and shredded the invaders that found themselves in its path._

 _Naruto allowed himself a brief smirk as he pulled out a pill from the pouch at his back and swallowed, restoring the expended Chakra. Already from the debris his jutstu had left behind he could see that all of the invaders within the breach of the Wall had been torn apart and their remains swept away. Behind him his comrades had regrouped and taken the opportunity to salvage some of the scattered weaponry, preparing for the Jutsu's conclusion and the next wave of enemy to return._

 _Naruto's eyes momentarily widened before narrowing as he focused intently at the Water jutsu that had exited the breach and spread out beyond it. "Fall back."_

" _W-what?" The closest of the Uzu Jounin blinked in surprise as she looked over to him. "Fall back? We can't."_

" _I'm sensing a massive Chakra buildup. Beyond Uzumaki Jounin level." Naruto explained, reaching up to his head and pulling on the ties of his forehead protector. "I fear this enemy will be beyond any of us. Pull back to the secondary holding point and inform the Uzukage of this development."_

 _Even without looking Naruto could sense the hesitation in his fellow, the desire to stay and fight, to protect their home despite the power and force brought to bear against them._

" _W-what about you?"_

 _Naruto rolled his shoulders, gritting his teeth when he saw a massive circular chunk of his **Senshokuko** vanish in an instant revealing a diminutive figure floating high in the air beyond it. "The day I knelt before the Uzukage and was made a Shinobi I swore to defend my home and my allies with my dying breath. Today I uphold that oath. Fall back. I will buy you all time."_

 _The Jounin hesitated a moment longer, eyes wide in astonishment at the bravery she was witnessing in the Uzumaki. She herself was not Uzumaki, but the loyalty and dedication the clan displayed affected and infected all around them, even her. But this. This was beyond anything she had ever come to understand of the mighty clan. She knew exactly who had come to the battlefield. She understood what awaited the red haired man should he remain._

 _It was the Tsuchikage._

" _...Understood."_

 _With a quick flex of the legs she and the other surviving defenders all shot back, leaping up to the buildings behind the battlefield._

 _Naruto allowed himself the opportunity to turn his head, looking back to the direction his team had left. And his eyes widened when he saw them all. Kneeling on the roof tops with their heads bowed in his direction._

" _Fight well, Uzumaki Naruto-sama."_

XxxXxxXxxX

"It was, difficult to weather the first few waves of attacks after the Wall had been breached." Naruto continued, taking Kushina's tea cup and washing it in the kitchen sink. "With the staggered pattern of attacks coming in from all sides we lost more ground than we could retake. I almost lost my entire squad defending against an Iwa attack and would have been overwhelmed had backup not arrived in time."

Naruto paused, reaching up to rub at his ribs on his right hand side, remembering that brutal encounter with Onoki of the Scales. The Tsuchikage had come close to killing him more than once in that fight.

"H-how did you survive?"

Kushina's shaking voice brought him out of his melancholy and he returned his gaze to her, his eyes softening sadly when he saw the streaked state of her makeup and tear filled eyes.

"From everything I was told Uzu was completely destroyed. Not a single building was left standing and any survivors were butchered. How did you get out?"

Naruto frowned in thought for a moment. It was something that he himself to this day was somewhat unsure of. He had tracked down a few Shinobi that had taken part in the invasion in the months and years following the destruction of his home and had been told very much the same thing. When Uzu had truly fallen the three villages had ransacked and destroyed his home. Kiri had stolen as many water based ninjutsu as they could get their hands on including the Shark based ninjutsu that his clan had created, Iwa had been the ones to demolish the buildings of the village and Kumo had attempted to take the Uzumaki clan's knowledge of sealing for their own. Naruto had been relieved to find out that Kumo had failed in that regard.

But how had he survived? How had none of the enemy found him trapped beneath the ruins of the village's central buildings with the bodies of several of his remaining teammates and trapped civilians piled on top of him.

"To be honest I don't know." Naruto confessed with a helpless shrug. "I remember being ordered to pull back our remaining forces to the final defensive line within the heart of the village. We were to prepare of an all out assault to regain advantage and push the invaders back beyond the Wall. But saboteurs had managed to infiltrate and set traps. I lost consciousness in the explosions and when I woke up. It was all over."

"Perhaps the bodies of those that had been buried with me protected me in some way from the enemy search teams. Tricking them into believing that I was nothing more than another corpse. It doesn't matter really. I woke up, and no-one else did. Since that day, with my Chakra coils damaged from the fighting; I wandered the nations. Hiding from bounty hunters and any and all nearby Shinobi that would take advantage of a weakened and vulnerable Uzumaki survivor."

"And now you're here."

Naruto smiled. Walking out of the kitchen and over to where Kushina was seated, crouching down to look at her with all the love and affection he had wanted so dearly to convey to another Uzumaki since the destruction of his home as he reached up to gently rest a hand against the side of her face. "Yes. I'm here."

XxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N:**

 **Right then. So people understand. What Naruto is telling Kushina is more so an edited version of events that fit the story he is presenting while in Konoha. The flashbacks are unfiltered truth of what happened. Just in case there are any questions as to inconsistencies between present and past for this chapter.**

 **As of this chapter we will be attempting to run a schedule for our stories. Schedule is as follows:**

 **Week 1:** **Risen in Light, Fallen to Shadow.**

 **Week 2:** **Never Alone.**

 **Week 3:** **Legacy of Darkness, Bane of Ligh** **t.**

 **Week 4: Zero Chakra Plan.**

 **repeat.**

 ** **Throne of Babylon** is an extra story that will be developed in between when there is time as it is has had the least amount of development and fine tuning done to it compared to the others.**

 **So fingers crossed we should be be bringing out chapters in a higher frequency than before.**

 **Now for the important crap.**

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	10. A Test of Skill

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the collective works of Naruto, Avengers or anything that may come into the following **Fan made** piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

XxxXxxXxxX

 _Previously:_

" _Perhaps the bodies of those that had been buried with me protected me in some way from the enemy search teams. Tricking them into believing that I was nothing more than another corpse. It doesn't matter really. I woke up, and no-one else did. Since that day, with my Chakra coils damaged from the fighting; I wandered the nations. Hiding from bounty hunters and any and all nearby Shinobi that would take advantage of a weakened and vulnerable Uzumaki survivor."_

" _And now you're here."_

 _Naruto smiled. Walking out of the kitchen and over to where Kushina was seated, crouching down to look at her with all the love and affection he had wanted so dearly to convey to another Uzumaki since the destruction of his home as he reached up to gently rest a hand against the side of her face. "Yes. I'm here."_

XxxXxxXxxX

Life in Konoha had proven, quaint, in the weeks following his arrival. Ever since he had moved into his apartment and unexpectedly become neighbors with the very reason for his coming to the village; Uzumaki Kushina, things had settled down into a state of peaceful monotony that he really was not used to at all.

His life since the fall of Uzu and before coming to Konoha had been filled with excitement and the danger that came with living on the road for the most part. Where there was the need to be on a near constant alert for bandits, rogue Shinobi, head hunters or even legal Shinobi from villages that had proven to be enemies of the Uzumaki name.

But here, there was no need for that. Under his cover as an Uzumaki survivor and refugee, he was not yet a registered member of the village's Shinobi Program and so therefore was unable to gain access to any training fields to blow off steam, nor did he have any need nor reason to stay on alert surrounded as he was by the active Shinobi.

That was not to say that Naruto had been bored in those weeks since his arrival. Far from it.

With his introduction to Kushina and that time spent where he regaled her with the story of their ancestral home and clan, the woman had introduced him to the before now sole comfort in her life; her daughter; Uzumaki Natsumi.

The golden haired infant had taken to him just as quickly and easily as he had her. Despite the lack of Uzumaki hair Naruto had been able to feel the strength of his clan within the baby. Imprisoned Kyubi aside she was as beautiful a baby as any other he had seen. That she had her mothers, her clan's eyes made Naruto's heart ache with both the loss of his home and family and the joy of having found her and Kushina.

Together the two Uzumaki women had shown him around their home. Kushina had taken great joy in showing him to the only place in the entire village to get a decent meal; Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. Naruto still would swear by it that the man who ran the stand cried tears of joy that day when Naruto and Kushina both had spent what a regular family would in a week that single day.

The one thing Kushina had yet to do was introduce him the friends she had within the village. When Naruto had spoken to her about it; concerned that she did not have any friends left due to the Kyubi attack, she had reasoned that it was her being selfish. She was not quite ready to share her cousin with anyone else just yet. A reason that Naruto did not blame her for in truth. He had been like that when he had taken Rin under his wing after all; unwilling to reveal her to Nagato and the others not out of concern for how she would be received but for the selfish desire of having her attention still focused on him for however longer he could justify.

There were sacrifices that Kushina had been forced to make in order to keep her cousin to herself as she wanted. In order to keep her friends away and stave off their curiosity she had been forced to spend time with her friends like she normally did before Natsumi's birth and on the very rare occasion since. Naruto hadn't minded at all as it allowed him to spend time with the baby Uzumaki as her babysitter.

On the more regrettable side of things, the alone time with the infant allowed him the opportunity to privately examine her seal and determine the state of the Kyubi within it. What he had been able to determine, the state of the seal, its function and how it bound the Kyubi within little Natsumi left Naruto both impressed with the Yondaime's work and wishing he could bring him back to the living only to send him back to death himself.

The seal containing the powerful Biju was impressive. There was no denying it. It would never allow the Kyubi to escape, not even during a female Jinchuriki's most vulnerable period as it had with Kushina; childbirth. However, the seal was designed with 'holes' that allowed the entities Chakra to 'leak' through the seal and mix into Natsumi's. Given his own research into the Biju and experience dealing with Rin and Isobu Naruto was fully aware that the Chakra of a Biju carried within it their very will. To allow a slow trickle of Kyubi Chakra to mix into Natsumi's ran the dangerous risk of infecting her with the lingering emotional state of the beast itself. Not only that but the seal had a damned lock tied into it! Lock in the sense of the seal was designed by its very function and build to be opened by a third party.

It was not all that difficult to assume who was in possession of the key to Natsumi's seal given the Yondaime's history. While it was clear from the seal's design and construction that Kushina had taught her former husband some aspects of Uzumaki brand Fuinjutsu, that was only a small amount taught atop an already firm foundation passed down to the former Hokage from his own Sensei Jiraiya of the Sannin. It was a well known fact, to the point of legend that Namikaze Minato had invented a powerful Ninjutsu called the Rasengan just prior to the Third Great Shinobi War. In his years of travelling Naruto had since learned himself that the very same Ninjutsu was also known to the Toad Sannin himself. So with that knowledge it was a safe assumption that Minato had passed on the key to Natsumi's seal to his mentor before his death.

The only reason why he had not brought his concerns and findings regarding Natsumi's seal to Kushina was the understanding that she would still be at this point in favor of Minato and his abilities in Fuinjutsu. While he was an Uzumaki and had her trust and confidence because of that, it did not mean that she believed in any skill in Fuinjutsu through just his word.

Presently Naruto in the middle of grocery shopping. Kushina was with Natsumi on a play date with one of her former teammates and friend with their own child which had allowed the red haired man to enjoy the task on his own. It helped that without the woman's presence the cost of his shopping would be down quite a bit without the armfuls of instant Ramen she kept smuggling into his basket.

He was very near finished, just needing a few more things for home before he went to the checkout when he felt a brief shift in the air behind him. Palming a Kunai tucked in his sleeve, the Uzumaki half turned his head to look back to the sudden arrival.

"Uzumaki-san."

Seeing the masked visage of an ANBU standing a few feet from him; identity concealed behind the appearance of a rat, Naruto relaxed and slipped the Kunai back into its wrist holster with a simple finger flick. If he had been discovered then the ANBU would never have bothered to reveal themselves like this. They would have simply attacked.

"Yes?"

"Hokage-sama requires your presence." Rat spoke, holding out a small scroll toward him, the wax seal of the Hokage clear for him to see. "Details are included within."

The moment Naruto accepted the scroll from the ANBU the man vanished from sight in a quickly executed _Shunshin,_ leaving him alone in the aisle once more. With a mental shrug, Naruto dropped his shopping basket, casually catching it and balancing the basket on a foot in order to free up his hands to crack the seal and open the scroll.

 _Applicant Uzumaki Naruto,_

 _You are hereby ordered to Training Field 035 for examination and evaluation as per your petition to enter the Shinobi Program. You are provided with thirty minutes to prepare as you see fit upon opening of this order. Failure to attend your evaluation at the thirty first minute mark will result in the summary dismissal of your application and mandatory period of no less than one year before any following attempts at admission may be attempted._

 _Directions to the site of your evaluation are detailed below._

 _Nara Shikaku_

 _Jounin Commander_

 _Office of the Hokage_

With a raised eyebrow at the name, having not expected his notice to be penned and dictated by anyone other than the Hokage of Konoha but still filing the name and position away given the importance the position suggested, Naruto abandoned any further attempt to conclude his shopping and immediately made for the checkout, kicking the basket into the air and catching it easily.

A quick swipe of a some box of snacks for later on his way to the checkout, followed by purchasing his shopping Naruto quickly sped home, choosing to hop across the building roofs and walls instead of a grounded route home.

Honestly it did not take more than a few minutes to be ready to attend his test. A clone collected his shopping to pack away in his absence and would dispel itself cleanly in the bathroom upon completion, leaving Naruto himself to change and collect his equipment.

With his real apparel and equipment safely hidden in Uzu, Naruto's 'Ninja' gear was quite, pathetic really. It had to be given his cover story of a recent vagabond. A pair of worn Shinobi pants with a chain mesh shirt worn over a dark brown long sleeve shirt. Five minutes into his thirty minute prep time he was dressed and strapping on his various equipment pouches. Two Kunai pouches on his right leg with a Shuriken pouch on his left. A supply pouch at his rear and a scroll holster strapped to his left bicep. With his long hair tied back in a ponytail, Naruto wrote down a short message to Kushina and slipped it under her door; just in case she returned home before he was finished.

With that all done, the Uzumaki headed out.

XxxX

It took a total of twenty minutes for Naruto to arrive at Training Field 035 starting from the moment he ANBU Officer had handed him his orders. Three minutes to get home, five minutes to get ready and twelve minutes to leave the Village Wall and make his way to where 035 was located. And it had taken that twelve minutes only because of his need to stop to consult his directions to locate it due to his still unfamiliarity with the village layout.

When he did arrive he immediately sighted Sarutobi waiting; dressed in his usual robes of office and smoking a pipe calmly. Gathered with him were a number of unknowns.

Two men of distinguished heritage given their controlled expressions and the manner in which they held themselves, looking to be around his own age were flanking the Hokage.

The man on the right, an Uchiha given the iconic fan shaped clan crest marked on his left sleeve, was dressed in full Shinobi attire; a dark green flack jacket worn over the Shinobi long sleeved shirt and pants and a waist cape that came down to his knees decorated with a line of white diamond shapes along the bottom his eyes were an obsidian black and his dark brown hair came down just shy of his shoulders.

The man on the left was a Hyuga given the pale, almost completely featureless white eyes that only those who possessed the Byakugan could have, was garbed in a set of long rich robes with wide sleeves that allowed him to envelop his hands as he clasped them together at his front. His own black hair came down just a few inches short of the small of his back.

The others were a mix of familiar and unfamiliar. Wearing the uniform of a Jounin Naruto could not mistake the pale skinned visage and slitted yellow eyed face of Orochimaru of the Sannin. The Snake Sannin of Konoha had immediately noticed his own arrival and had not seemed to have even blinked the moment his eyes had flicked over to stare at the newly arrived Uzumaki.

His companion that stood to his left was unfamiliar to Naruto. Spiky brown hair tied back in a high ponytail and two long scars marking the right side of his face, this man wore the same flak jacket as Orochimaru and the Uchiha but over a short sleeved chain mesh shirt. In addition he was wearing a ragged fur skin, most likely deer given its appearance, coat over the Jounin jacket.

"Ah Naruto-san, you have arrived." Sarutobi spoke up as he noticed the red heads arrival. "And with time to spare, that will reflect good."

Naruto gave a short bow to the Hokage before affording a small smile as he approached closer to the Hokage and highly ranked Shinobi. "I find that when your Kage orders your presence, it is best not to waste time, yours or that of your leader."

The old man nodded in approval before gesturing to those gathered with him. "If I may I will introduce you to the panel that that has been assembled to assess your application and examination today. To my right is the head of the Uchiha clan, Captain of the Konoha Military Police and seated member of the Shinobi High Council; Uchiha Fugaku."

The stern faced Uchiha regarded Naruto for a moment, as if assessing his worth and threat level before nodding his greeting.

"To my left is the head of the Hyuga Clan and also seated member of the Shinobi High Council; Hyuga Hiashi."

There was no response from the Hyuga was he was introduced. He simply looked at Naruto briefly before turning away to stare off at, whatever it was that he felt was more worth his time. It kind of annoyed the Uzumaki if he had to be honest.

"Additionally in their capacity on the panel as Active duty Shinobi, we have Nara Shikaku; current Jounin Commander and Head of the Nara Clan."

The rough looking man gave a lazy smile and hand wave to him as he leaned against a tree, enjoying the shade it provided.

"And finally a student of mine; Orochimaru of Konoha's Sannin."

The man in question gave a short, almost mocking bow due to the amused smile that was present on his face as he was introduced. "It is a pleasure to meet you Uzumaki-kun."

Naruto returned the bow to the Snake Sannin before briefly turning to look at the other three with a more relaxed, open expression on his face. "Ah, the pleasure is mine. Thank you for your time."

"Well then, now that introductions are done, you mind if I explain things from here Hokage-sama?" Shikaku spoke up, looking over to his leader calmly. At the approval of the old man, the Nara turned back to Naruto to continue. "Right then. It is my understanding that the Hokage has already explained to you that the examination today involves a controlled spar to determine your level of skill and overall competency?"

Naruto nodded in agreement, recalling the conversation he had with Sarutobi upon his arrival several weeks ago.

"Good. Normally that spar is in actuality a number of spars against opponents of different skill level from Genin up to Special Jounin followed by a spar against a current Jounin Educator." Shikaku explained. "However, it is the decision of myself and my fellow judges that such an examination is unnecessary given your apparent background and relative experience. Instead you will participate in three spars today. Each against an opponent of differing skill and ranking. How you perform overall and against each individual opponent will be assessed and deliberated by the panel from which a judgement will be made. Understood?"

Naruto nodded once. There was nothing needed to be said at this point. Just like a mission debriefing unless the subordinate had questions then there was no need nor place for him to speak.

"Good. Your opponents have been selected by nomination and voted approval by the panel. In addition they have been informed off the examination today and given time to prepare accordingly. The proctor to oversee each spar will be different with myself acting as your first proctor. Do you have any questions before your examination begins."

Naruto once more remained silent as he shook his head. It was fairly clear cut. He would face three opponents. Each spar would have a different proctor to determine the start and end of the spar according to normal rulings. They had been given more time to prepare themselves than him which as he could surmise was by design in order to force the applicant; himself, to perform all the harder to match that of a properly prepared enemy.

There was a flurry of movement as all the judges bar Shikaku retreated to the edge of the Training Field to observe from a safe distance and a teenager, perhaps within the range of fifteen to eighteen years of age appeared on the other side of the open field behind Naruto in a cloud of smoke.

"Your opponent is Chunnin Ebisu." Shikaku introduced as he indicated to the Shinobi. "Age sixteen. Ebisu is a current member-in-training of the Shinobi Academy's faculty."

The teenager straightened and formed a single hand-seal, the seal of confrontation, as he faced Naruto. He was dressed as one would expect a Chunnin to dress. Plain dark blue pants and long sleeve shirt with a light green Chunnin flak jacket. The only accessory he had added to his appearance was a pair of black round sunglasses that concealed his eyes from view. His Konoha headband was worn as a bandanna that covered his hair. All in all he looked remarkably forgettable.

Naruto faced his opponent, returning the seal to Ebisu, respecting the tradition that he had learned Konoha held to in their spars from the information packet Sarutobi had provided him with.

"Begin!"

With a word and Shikaku leaping back to evacuate the immediate area, Ebisu started off the spar. With a level of speed and fluidity that surprised Naruto given the teenager's relative age, the sixteen year old pulled out and three a pair of Kunai his way, aimed to hit him squarely in the chest if he did not move.

Stepping to the side, Naruto was not surprised when as he was forced to duck down quickly, he walked into the airborne ninja who was already in the motions of a spinning kick; having apparently counted on and anticipated his direction and movement. As Naruto dodged under the kick Ebisu pulled out another Kunai and threw it again, this time aiming for the Uzumaki's head.

Just as before it missed as Naruto this time jumped back a step and flipped back several feet to gain some distance between himself and the younger Chunnin.

Initial assessment showed that Ebisu, while young and barely within the age bracket an Uzu Genin would be applicable for promotion, he was skilled and adept in battle field assessment given how quickly the boy had been able to predict which direction he would dodge his initial attack; most likely from having determined his dominant side. The lack of Ninjutsu did not give any indication in regards to his use of it given the still early state of the spar but thus far the Chunnin's proficiency regarding Shurikenjutsu coupled with his immediate transition into close range combat would suggest that the teenager was a close to mid range fighter.

Remaining in a ready crouch, legs spread and knees bent to allow him to move in any direction quickly, Naruto reached down to his secondary kunia pouch and snapped it open. Ebisu responded as he expected and pulled out another Kunai before retreating a couple of steps, raising the knife into a defensible position; anticipating the need to parry upcoming projectiles.

Naruto allowed a small smirk to pass over his face as he pulled out a thin light brown and green stick. Sticking it in his mouth he bit down on the Green Tea Pocky, sending an amused smirk to Ebisu as he straightened his posture and pocketed his free hand.

The casual dismissal of his opponent and the fact that the red head had the audacity to bring with him a kunai holster filled with Pocky and chosen to eat it while fighting him was an insult! Did the older man consider him that minor a threat!?

With a scowl, Ebisu shot forward, pulling out another Kunai for his free hand as he neared his disrespectful opponent.

When he came within five feet of Naruto he snapped out his right arm; hurling the Kunai in that hand at his opponents head. When the Uzumaki tilted his head to the side; efficiently avoiding the attack, all the while munching on his snack, Ebisu came in from a low angle aiming to thrust the kunai still in his left hand upward into his stomach just below the rib cage.

When he was stopped in his tracks, the Chunnin's eyes visibly widened from behind his glasses.

It was a state of frozen disbelief when his Kunai was halted and deflected by a half eaten Pocky stick; faintly glowing in Chakra, that stunned Ebisu.

The control and experience necessary to infuse such a fragile object with Chakra without breaking it but instead make it strong enough to block the sharpened edge of a Kunai? It was beyond anything he believed he would ever be capable of. He had never even heard of such finely honed Chakra Control outside of medical Ninjutsu.

And then it all ended there. When out of the corner of his eyes he saw five glowing purple dots at the ends of Naruto's fingers as he pulled his other hand free of his pocket. A thrust into his stomach. Blinding pain. And a single word.

" _ **Gogyo Fuin!**_ "

XxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N:**

 **alright then this is a short chapter we admit. It was intended to be longer overall with the examination done in a single chapter but we decided to split it up for a few reasons. First and foremost we wanted to be able to post an update this week for Zero Chakra Plan but ran out of time to really dedicate to a longer chapter due to unavoidable circumstances in the real world. So the examination chapter has been turned into a two parter with the second chapter concluding with the final two spars and the end results for Naruto.**

 **Ebisu's fight was a short one given not only the difference in skill between the two but also because it is believed between the two of us that outside of the truly even fights like Hashirama to Madara, Sasuke to Naruto and Kakashi to Obito where both parties are evenly matched. A real fight between ninja ends really really quickly. No grandstanding or flashy bullshit. Quick and to the point.**

 **Hope this chapter is received well and is enjoyed by all.**

 **Also we hope those of you who have been reading our other posts have enjoyed what else we have brought to the table so to speak.**

 **According to our schedule next week another chapter of Risen in Light is due. If we have the chance we will also be working on Throne of Babylon so keep an eye out but don't get your hopes up.**

 **Read, REVIEW!**

 **See you next time.**


	11. A Special Showing

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the collective works of Naruto, Avengers or anything that may come into the following **Fan made** piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

 **XxxXxxXxxX**

 **A/N Important A/N at the end of Chapter regarding ZCP. Please read.**

XxxXxxXxxX

 _Previously:_

 _Naruto allowed a small smirk to pass over his face as he pulled out a thin light brown and green stick. Sticking it in his mouth he bit down on the Green Tea Pocky, sending an amused smirk to Ebisu as he straightened his posture and pocketed his free hand._

 _The casual dismissal of his opponent and the fact that the red head had the audacity to bring with him a kunai holster filled with Pocky and chosen to eat it while fighting him was an insult! Did the older man consider him that minor a threat!?_

 _With a scowl, Ebisu shot forward, pulling out another Kunai for his free hand as he neared his disrespectful opponent._

 _When he came within five feet of Naruto he snapped out his right arm; hurling the Kunai in that hand at his opponents head. When the Uzumaki tilted his head to the side; efficiently avoiding the attack, all the while munching on his snack, Ebisu came in from a low angle aiming to thrust the kunai still in his left hand upward into his stomach just below the rib cage._

 _When he was stopped in his tracks, the Chunnin's eyes visibly widened from behind his glasses._

 _It was a state of frozen disbelief when his Kunai was halted and deflected by a half eaten Pocky stick; faintly glowing in Chakra, that stunned Ebisu._

 _The control and experience necessary to infuse such a fragile object with Chakra without breaking it but instead make it strong enough to block the sharpened edge of a Kunai? It was beyond anything he believed he would ever be capable of. He had never even heard of such finely honed Chakra Control outside of medical Ninjutsu._

 _And then it all ended there. When out of the corner of his eyes he saw five glowing purple dots at the ends of Naruto's fingers as he pulled his other hand free of his pocket. A thrust into his stomach. Blinding pain. And a single word._

" _ **Gogyo** **Fuin** **!** "_

XxxXxxXxxX

Naruto stood off to the side of the large training field, leaning against the trunk of a tree and indulging in its shade as the review panel; consisting of the Third Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku and Orochimaru, member of the Densetsu no Sannin, went over the details of his recent bout.

He had fought a Chunnin by the name of Ebisu. Moderately skilled in his own right Naruto had to admit that the teenager had impressed him with the potential the boy had displayed in not only Shurikenjutsu, but his ability to anticipate and act upon an enemies future actions. While nothing to be overly concerned with given his own reaction times and battlefield preparedness; Naruto had been surprised to see the sixteen year old already in his face; having perfectly predicted his immediate reaction to the opening attack. Unfortunately for the Konoha Shinobi, that was all he realistically had. Good instincts. There was no great stores of Chakra within the teenager for any extensive use of Ninjutsu nor would the boy be able to pull off any of notable power. And while his speed was matched with his current ranking, Naruto was not Chunnin.

"An impressive display Naruto-kun."

The Red head turned his head slightly, looking away from the clouds that soared overhead to see the pale visage of Orochimaru standing a few feet from him; a faint smirk on the man's face. "For some, maybe."

The smirk widened into a grin and Orochimaru nodded ever so slightly as if in approval. "I suppose Sarutobi-sensei putting a Chunnin against you would be a wasted effort if even half the stories of your clan are to be held up as fact."

Naruto remained silent at the subtle open ended query as to the strengths of his clan. He had heard a great deal of things of Konoha's Densetsu no Sannin from Nagato over the years. While primarily concerning Jiraiya the Toad Sage given his cousin's history with the man, there had still been information to share concerning the other members; Tsunade the Slug Princess and this man; Orochimaru the White Snake.

While his teammates were more open and upfront with their intentions and for all intents and purposes had the subtlety of a Biju, their teammate; this man before him, was another creature entirely. Orochimaru thrived off of information and counter information and subterfuge.

Even if the unspoken query concerning the Uzumaki clan truly was innocent, Naruto understood completely that whatever he told this man would never be forgotten and would forever remain within Orochimaru's mind for assessment and use if a situation required it.

"I was most impressed by that _Fuinjutsu_ you performed to incapacitate little Ebisu." Orochimaru continued, not at all put off by the silence from the younger Shinobi. "I did not believe that kind of Jutsu could be prepared so swiftly without prior preparation. A colleague of mine considers himself to be a master of the art and yet I have never known him to be able to do such a thing without first inscribing the sealing formula to paper."

Naruto scoffed under his breath. He had heard the boasts of Jiraiya before. A Konoha native with not a drop of Uzumaki blood in his veins nor a moment of Uzumaki education declaring himself a master of the art that was _invented_ by his clan. What a joke. The Toad Sage may as well be an illiterate child compared to even an Uzumaki Academy graduate.

"In truth the _**Gogyo**_ _ **Fuin**_ __is a contradiction of a _Fuinjutsu_ in that it is both simple and incredibly difficult to mold and cast." Naruto replied, still looking at the man intently. "At it's core it is essentially a Chakra Control exercise set into the format of a Seal. Chakra is focused to the fingertips and further molded into specific shapes to create the five corners that become the overall Seal. Thrust and branded into the flesh of a target the Seal activates as it is branded and causes a severe shock to the system knocking out the victim. The Seal then disrupts Chakra flow by forcing the targets Chakra network to sustain the Seal itself; both at random intervals as well requiring differing amounts of Chakra in order to preserve itself."

Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock. Terrified at the prospect of such a Jutsu. With what this Seal was capable of and how it functioned it could potentially take out even a Kage level Shinobi if properly applied. "Is there a method to remove this Seal of yours? I would hate to think that the career of little Ebisu has come to an end because of this spar."

Naruto shrugged. "There was a counter Seal developed to remove the branding. More or less it is the same exercise as the _**Gogyo Fuin**_ **.** The _**Gogyo Kaiin**_ cuts off the connection between the Seal and the attached Chakra Network. Without the Chakra to maintain it, the _**Gogyu Fuin**_ fades within moments."

"Interesting. I would very much like to learn such a _Fuinjutsu._ "

Naruto shrugged, there was no real threat to teaching this man the _Fuinjutsu._ Even if at some future event the Seal was applied to him, not only did Naruto know the counter seal but he had long since learned how to apply the counter seal not only to himself; a feat which was incredibly difficult due to hand placements, but he could also do it while under the effects of the _**Gogyu Fuin**_ itself. "Perhaps at a later time. We can arrange an exchange of sorts."

Orochimaru smiled widely, his eyes lighting up with the prospect of furthering his knowledge.

"Orochimaru! We are ready for the next spar."

Naruto smirked when he saw the flash of annoyance cross over the face of the Snake's face; clearly unhappy that their conversation had been interrupted; further proving the intelligence Nagato had supplied him; The White Snake was one who craved knowledge.

With a casual wave, Naruto acknowledged the departing Ninja as he himself pushed off from tree he had been leaning against and stepped out to walk back to the center of the field, ready for his next opponent.

"Well then." Sarutobi began, briefly eyeing his student as the man returned to join the rest of the panel. "You have faced and passed the Chunnin level test of this evaluation. Your next opponent-"

There was a flourish of movement that pulled Naruto's eye from the Hokage and over to a spot twenty feet from him. No explosion of smoke nor scattering of leaves; just a blur like that of a desert mirage as a small figure suddenly appeared, crouched low.

Incredible speed.

"- Will be Special Jounin Uchiha Shisui."

The new arrival stood up proper and to Naruto's surprise, revealed that of a ten year old boy. He could see the matching heritage in the boy that connected him to the panel judge; Uchiha Fugaku. The matching eyes and hair coloring. But Shisui's face was more, open. There wasn't as much intensity in the ten year old's eyes. He had not been awakened so fully to the realities of this world as his elder kin had. He was dressed similarly to Ebisu with the faint difference in that his flack jacket was a darker shade of green and had had a short sleeved shirt with the Uchiha fan marking both sleeves underneath instead of the regulation long sleeve shirt.

It had the Uzumaki narrow his own eyes and flick his gaze over to glare at the examiners. Power aside, a ten year old did not possess the field experience let alone the mental maturity and durability to fulfil the role of a Chunnin let alone a Special Jounin. That Konoha would see someone who should by Uzumaki standards be a fresh Genin regardless of skill and physical capabilities be ranked amongst the highest elite; it was both irresponsible and deplorable.

"Age ten. Uchiha Shisui is considered a prodigy of his clan and currently in-training for candidacy for admission into the village's ANBU initiative." Shikaku explained, taking note of the Uzumaki's reaction to his opponent but not commenting on it.

Naruto turned away from the panel and properly faced Shisui; understanding that the spar would begin momentarily. The Uchiha in question grinned widely and waved a hand at him. An instant later the smile vanished and a focused expression came over the ten year old as he crouched down into a ready position, one hand held up before him in the Seal of Confrontation.

Naruto nodded in approval, both pleased and dismayed to see that someone so young and full of life could slip into such a professional disposition so easily. He returned the gesture with a hand as he mimicked Shisui's stance, crouching down into a low position. He recognised his opponents ready stance as one used primarily for rapid movement. This would not be a slow fight.

"Begin."

It started in an instant. The moment the match was officially started, Shisui shot forward like a cannon. Coming in low to the ground, the ten year old crossed the twenty foot gap between the two in a blink of an eye. The Uchiha swiped at Naruto's legs with a Kunai, forcing the Uzumaki to leap back a few feet.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise when the image of Shisui vanished in a blur of movement and he twisted in midair quickly as a fist passed through the air where his torso had been moments ago; the incredibly quick Uchiha having reappeared directly at his back.

A blast of fire was spat out in the wake of Shisui's punch that completely enveloped the wide eyed Uzumaki. The fireball detonated violently, going off in an explosion of flame and smoke that spread out to cover a good third of the field.

Shisui sprang back from the explosion and set himself back down into his ready position; the crimson eyes of his Sharingan flicking around rapidly as he searched for his opponent.

"I confess-"

Shisui's Sharingan locked in on the location of the voice, immediately sighting the shadow that was visible through the steadily fading smoke.

"-I was not expecting such speed from you." Naruto admitted as the smoke cleared enough for him to be seen by all the occupants of the training ground. One of the sleeves of his worn long sleeve shirt had been burned away from the force of the attack, still smouldering slightly from where the flames had hit him, but otherwise he was unharmed.

Shisui grinned widely for a brief moment, glad to see that the fight wasn't quite done with and that his opponent had weathered his initial salvo. "Thanks Senpai! I'm not as fast as Yondaime-sama, but I think I'll get there eventually."

Naruto shrugged indifferently. The fact that this child was using a supplementary Jutsu such as the _**Shunshin no Jutsu**_ within a battlefield situation with such precision already was a league beyond what the Yondaime had ever achieved.

"Ano, Senpai?"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he looked to the Uchiha who was glancing toward the ground and pointing at differing locations.

"You do know I can see them right?"

That was an interesting piece of information. Naruto was not aware of the true extent of the Sharingan that belonged to the Uchiha clan. It was well known for its capability to perceive the Chakra network of an enemy Shinobi as well as perfectly copy Chakra manipulation in order to steal Jutsu in mid battle. Additionally its ability to cast intricate Genjutsu was also well documented. He was not aware that the Uchiha could also perceive Chakra through solid matter such as the earth however. Interesting.

"Can you now?" Naruto mused aloud, reaching up to idly scratch the side of his neck as if in thought. "If you can see them, can you do anything to stop them?"

Shisui let out a squeak as the Naruto in front of him collapsed, splashing to the ground in a puddle of water and the ground directly behind him split open to allow a red haired blur to burst out. The Ten year old jumped back out of the way of the leading punch; avoiding the blow narrowly before blurring away with another _**Shunshin.**_

He reappeared fifteen feet to the right of the smirking Uzumaki and pulled out a Kunai, Sharingan eyes wide at the unexpected diversion.

Naruto just smiled as he straightened. "Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly."

A light, visible only to the Sharingan came in from below Shisui's periphery vision. The Uchiha paled in fear and quickly vanished in yet another _**Shunshin**_ as the ground beneath him exploded violently. He found his feet in another location, thirty feet behind his opponent. Only to be forced to move again as another explosion devastated the field, set off directly beneath him and missing by only the barest of margins thanks only to the speed and reaction time that saw him respond to the split second warning his Sharingan provided.

When he reappeared standing atop the water of a small stream that ran through the northern quarter of the Training Field, he allowed a relieved smile to come to his face as he believed himself safe. Whatever Naruto had done to booby trap the ground would not be here.

When that same warning light, the presence of quickly building Chakra became visible to his Sharingan, Shisui looked down and felt his blood run cold at what he saw. It was an explosive tag. Floating there just below the surface of the water and lighting up rapidly toward detonation. As he leapt up into the air and away from the expected radius of the explosion his eyes widened even further when he saw a further five more tags floating in the river, waiting for him to come close to set them off.

"A-A minefield!?"

Back still in the original place Naruto had emerged from, the Uzumaki gave a sinister smile as he looked over to the wide eyed Uchiha. Child or not this opponent was a Shinobi and so he would treat him as such, regardless of age. And if his opponent was one with notable speed, then he would devise a field where he would be unable to utilise that speed.

Thinking quickly, Shisui threw the Kunai he had on hand at a spot a few feet from the river bank. When it exploded the moment the knife stabbed into the ground he pulled out three more and threw them all.

Three Kunai stabbed into the ground. Two explosions ripped through the earth.

When his jump out of the range of the river explosion brought him to the tree line he used a tree trunk as a springboard and pushed off, leaping over to the Kunai that had marked a safe location to find his footing. Landing heavily, Shisui's chest heaved as he sucked in a deep breath. Catching his breath once more he was about to about to redirect his focus back to the still motionless Naruto; whose own eyes were locked on him.

And then his world turned white.

There was no build up. No warning or indicator from his alert Sharingan to give sign of a pending explosion. It just happened.

Shards of rock and grits of dirt bit into his skin from the force of the blast and the concussive wave threw him off of his feet. The Special Jounin could not bite back the cry of pain that as ripped out of him as he felt the sharp agony of his right leg snap; fracturing from the blast.

When he finally rolled to a stop, the force of the explosion having sent him ten feet from the detonation, his world once more erupted into agony as another mine tag went off. Thankfully this one was a few feet to the left of his position and not directly beneath him. The explosion shot more debris at him, drawing more blood as shards of rock buried into the flesh of his exposed arms and cut ribbons into his shirt, a fist sized rock smacked into the side of his face, causing his left eye to close shut from the swelling.

Shisui tried to get back up; In spite of the pain that he felt, his aching leg from where it had broken and the bite of the cuts and stab wounds where the stone shards were still impaled into his body.

He pulled himself out of the shallow grave the final explosion had buried him, slowly pulling himself out from the dirt and rock that had piled over him. Only to bite out another moan of pain when he felt his hair being grabbed and pulled, forcing his body up. When he felt the cold steel of a Kunai against his throat he froze.

"This, is my victory kid."

XxxX

Medic Ninja had swiftly arrived to ferry the injured Shisui to the hospital after Shikaku had officially called the match in Naruto's favor.

The Uzumaki had deactivated his minefield to allow the collection to go on without any difficulty and even helped the medics ease the boy onto a stretcher before he returned to the shade of his tree while the Panel convened to discuss the details of the spar.

Lying on his back so as to better watch the clouds overhead it was not Orochimaru who interrupted his grace period this time. But Nara Shikaku.

"That was pretty rough." The Jounin Commander commented, standing over the Uzumaki's head, hands in pockets as he lazily looked down to him. "The kid will be in recovery for a few weeks healing from that."

"Well then perhaps you should rethink your promotions before giving a ten year old such a high rank." Naruto replied neutrally. "You say a Ninja is Special Jounin. I will treat that Ninja as Special Jounin."

Shikaku was silent for a moment, thinking on the explanation before nodding in reluctant agreement. He could not deny the words spoken. In a live scenario where the battle was to the death, there would be no quarter given just because of the age of one of the combatants.

"In Uzu, our Shinobi Program did not promote simply based upon the skillset of the Shinobi in question." Naruto commented, turning his eyes from the clouds overhead to look instead at the curious Nara. "I myself was at Elite Jounin level at the age of fifteen, but, because of the restrictions placed upon advancement, I was not given the rank until I had first reached the age 16 and even then that was six months after being on probation as Special Jounin."

"Your village imposed multiple conditions for promotions?"

Naruto nodded. "By the laws of both the Uzukage and the Shinobi Council of Uzu, an applicant for promotion must of course be physically able and skilled enough to represent the desired ranking, but also have the experience and mental maturity to handle its responsibilities. Would you expect me to believe that Uchiha Shisui; at the age of ten has the field experience and maturity of someone nearly twice his age?"

Shikaku frowned. It was not pleasing to hear. Konoha prided itself as being the greatest of the Hidden Villages across the entirety of the Nations. They boasted not only the most gifted and powerful of any individual Shinobi, but the greatest fighting force. Well, prior to the Kyuubi attack at least. Kumo had since taken the highest ranking now when it came to sheer quantity.

To be told that their Shinobi Programs system for promotions was flawed, it burned. Even more so to him personally, Nara Shikaku; who prided himself on his intellect and deductive reasoning. That such a thing had never crossed his mind. That just because their younger, more gifted Ninja had the strength of a higher rank and therefore were promoted to that rank, did not mean they should be.

What would it have meant for the village if Konoha had adopted the same regulations as their sister village Uzu? Would people like Hatake Kakashi have become as broken as he was if he had been forced to mature and gain more experience before being promoted? Would his teammates; Nohara Rin and Uchiha Obito still be alive if a more experienced and put together Kakashi had lead them instead of a younger, more impulsive Kakashi?

Shikaku turned his head to look back to where the rest of his fellow examiners were finishing their discussion before turning back to Naruto, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck tiredly. "Best get up, next fight will be starting soon."

Not even waiting for any acknowledgement from the redhead, the Jounin Commander turned around and walked back to the edge of the Training Field, eyes cast down in thought. "Troublesome."

When Naruto had returned to the field, circling the scattered debris from his previous fight against Shisui to find his way back to the middle, he turned to face the examiners.

"An impressive display Uzumaki-san." Sarutobi began, once more speaking for everyone. "A bit excessive, but impressive nonetheless."

"But now your Opponent is me!"

Naruto rolled his eyes in annoyance when the Hokage was interrupted by a loud, boisterous voice and an eruption of thick smoke in the middle of the field a few feet from where the Uzumaki stood.

When it cleared a large horse sized toad sat there, the stage for a widely grinning Kabuki dressed man with long messy white hair.

"From the west to the East I travel! Inspiring hate in man and lust in women! I am the Great Sage of Mount Myoboku; the Toad Hermit Jiraiya!"

The only sound to break the silence the introduction found was the sound of Sarutobi's hand slapping against his forehead and a groan of defeat from the Hokage.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the entrance. Wondering what purpose blatantly displaying the capability to summon could have that did not put the supposedly legendary Shinobi at a disadvantage. Common knowledge or not. Rumor was one thing, but to confirm it without any prompting? How touched in the head was this moron?

"I wonder how long it took you to think of that Jiraiya-kun." Orochimaru commented lightly from beside his Sensei, an amused smile on his face as he addressed his teammate.

Jiraiya, who stood in the middle of a ridiculous pose; one leg raised and his hands stretched out like some kind of circus performer, lost his 'fierce' expression and glared over to the Snake Sannin. "Shut it Orochi-teme! You wouldn't know greatness if it came up and smacked you in the face. My very word has untold masses hanging on desperately and legions of women dripping in hope for more!"

Naruto suppressed the urge to groan at this and could not help but mutter; "Desperate for silence or your departure?"

The Toad Sannin shot the muttering Uzumaki a glare, having apparently heard him.

"Ahem." Shikaku coughed, bringing back attention onto him and away from the flamboyant Toad Sage. "As you can see your next and final opponent will be Jiraiya, former student of our Sandaime-sama and member of the Densetsu no Sannin. Veteran of two Great Wars and Sensei to our late Yondaime Hokage."

Jiraiya grinned widely and hopped around on the spot atop the toad he had summoned. Apparently taking a great deal of pleasure and pride in having his accomplishments detailed.

"Where as your first two opponents each represented a specific ranking; Chunnin and Jounin respectively." The Nara continued, pointedly ignoring the Toad Sage's posturing. "Jiraiya represents the upper tier of the Shinobi Programs rankings. Take your ready position."

Naruto's brow furrowed in thought as he turned around and walked several feet away from the white haired man in question, wanting some extra distance from the war veteran before the match began. His first two opponents were children in all truths; a sixteen year old and a ten year old. Lacking in any real experience for battle and so not able to warrant his careful selection of a starting position.

Jiraiya; regardless of his personality and temperament, was a highly experienced Shinobi with according to Nagato; a highly attuned affinity for battlefield awareness. In all likelihood, the man had already scouted out the surrounding area the moment he had made his appearance.

Naruto finally came to a stop a good fifty feet from the Toad Sage and spun around, hand already raised in the Seal of Confrontation and Chakra circulating through his body as well as his current state would allow.

"Begin!"

" _ **Katon: Gamayu Endan! (Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb)**_ "

Jiraiya did not hesitate for even the briefest of moments before his own Seal of Confrontation shifted into a brief number of seals to unleash his opening Ninjutsu. The toad he was astride spat out a stream of oil at the redhead which was in turn ignited by a fire release from the Sannin. The result of which was a massive wave of liquid fire that roared toward Naruto at incredible speed.

The Sage smirked as the wave of liquid fire washed over the area where the younger Ninja had been standing, confident that his Jutsu had, if not taken him completely out of the fight, at least did some damage to debilitate him for the remainder of the match.

He let out a surprised cry and his eyes widened when he lost his footing unexpectedly as Gama disappeared in a burst of smoke; returning back to Mount Myoboku. It confused him as to why his summon had so suddenly left. There had been no attack to force him back to the summon realm nor had he dismissed the toad.

Frowning thoughtfully, Jiraiya put the confusing aside, making a point to investigate at a later time when he was able. Right now he needed to focus on what was right in front of him. Sarutobi-sensei had instructed him to take this seriously and while he seriously doubted that this upstart Uzumaki needed such effort, he wasn't about to completely dismiss him.

A good thing he did choose to keep his attention in the here and now as had he not, the man would have been caught completely by surprise when a half charred Naruto burst out from the still burning firestorm. Charging directly into Jiraiya's personal space, the white haired man sidestepped a telegraphed kick before just as quickly swatting aside a Kunai. Naruto immediately followed up with a rapid flurry of punches aimed at his head, which were all avoided with little to no difficulty.

In truth, Jiraiya was disappointed. While his expectations had not been very high to begin with. He had been informed that the Shinobi he was to be testing was a crippled survivor of the Uzu Massacre, he had been hoping to at least face some kind of challenge. But if this was all the younger man had to throw at him, then there really was no need to waste time fighting him seriously.

Dodging one last punch aimed at his stomach, Jiraiya finally retaliated. A heavy punch was sent out and into the stomach of a wide eyed Naruto; the sheer force of the blow allowing the fist to dig deep into his body, shattering bone and rupturing several organs.

"I don't get what the big deal is with you Uzumaki really." Jiraiya confessed in a bored tone, looking down at the heaving Uzumaki that was literally hanging off of his fist. "Sensei would tell stories of how feared your clan was. If this is all you have to muster, I don't see it."

He felt liquid dripping along his arm, but frowned when he felt that it was cool, far too much for it to be warm blood. When he saw clear water dripping down from his elbow, a steady stream of it leaking out from the now smirking Uzumaki he swore.

"It's alright." 'Naruto' coughed. "I myself don't see what is that great about you Sannin. _**Katsu.**_ "

It was not the _**Mizu Bunshin**_ that exploded, although in hindsight Jiraiya certainly wished it had been. No, it was the ground beneath and around him that did. Every single one of the twenty five exploding tags Naruto had seeded underneath the Training Ground during his fight against Shisui had been reacquired by the real Naruto and replaced in a fifteen foot radius directly beneath the cocky Sannin. When Naruto's clone attacked and distracted him, the tags were primed. And then activated by the will of the clone itself.

The result, was a complete alteration to the entirety of Training Ground 035. despite the relatively compact location and grouping of the tags, the resulting explosion affected outwards up to a one hundred foot radius. A massive smoking crater now dominated the entire field with the small stream that had been at the far edge of the training ground now spilling into it as its bank was ruptured by the explosion.

The assembled examiners were forced to relocate from the force of the explosion in order to avoid the eruption and debris that was shot out as a result.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto reappeared within the crater near the river, lifting out of the ground like a mirage as he ended his _**Moguragakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mole Jutsu).**_

He appeared completely unaffected by the spar so far; there were no signs of burns or fire damage from Jiraiya's opening collaboration Jutsu. This was primarily due to his quick reaction to replacing himself with a _**Mizu Bunshin**_ he had kept on standby across all three of his spars thus far.

On the other side of the crater, Naruto was unsurprised when he saw that Jiraiya had survived the explosion mostly unharmed.

The Sannin was glaring fiercely at him, his clothes singed and exposed skin littered with light abrasions and his hair now significantly shorter and charred from the explosion. Surrounding him were the still burning remnants of the hair that he had lost.

" _ **Hari Jizo (Needle Jizo).**_ " The man spat, very much unhappy that he had been not only caught so completely by surprise at the tactic, but that the defensive Jutsu that he had developed had barely been able to protect him and at the cost of the majority of his hair.

It was an amusing sight really. The Sage's hair was a mess, black and smouldering in places and uneven. It would take quite some time before the man would be able to walk around in public with his iconic hair style.

"My apologies oh great Toad Sage." Naruto called out. "With a reputation such as yours I believed that you would be able to avoid my trap easily. But look on the bright side at least. At your age it was only a matter of time before the hair started to go."

Jiraiya's body started to shake from the rage he was feeling at the mockery. This upstart little shit dared to think he was better than him?! This kid was nothing, a cripple survivor of a long dead clan while he was the great hero of two wars! He had fought Hanzo the Salamander and lived to tell of it! What had Uzumaki Naruto done?!

"I don't suppose we could end this match here could we?" Naruto asked innocently, scratching at the side of his face. "To be honest I was hoping to be able to fight against the strongest of the Densetsu no Sannin. Do you think Orochimaru-sama would be up for that?"

Oh hell no.

Jiraiya growled angrily and swiftly bit his thumb before running through a chain of hand seals, noticing that Naruto was matching his movements by running through a chain of his own.

" _ **Kuchiyose no**_ _ **Jutsu**_ _ **:**_ _ **Gamaken**_ _ **! (Summoning Jutsu)**_ " Jiraiya slammed his hand on the ground, a sealing array spreading out from his hand in order to initiate the summoning.

At the same time Naruto mimicked the action and slammed his own hand against the ground, an amused smile on his face. " _ **Kuchiyose: Shoukan Kai**_ _ **! (**_ _ **Summoning:**_ _ **Summon**_ _ **Release**_ _ **)**_ "

The Jutsu was confusing to those who both saw the hand seals the Uzumaki had run through, Orochimaru himself recognising them as the complete reverse of the same seals required for a summoning and the Jutsu name invoked.

The result of the Jutsu was made clear when Jiraiya seemed profoundly confused when there was no eruption of smoke and arrival of the great war toad Gamaken. It took a moment for the Jutsu that Naruto had made use of to register to him as he stood back up and glared at the still smiling Uzumaki.

"What was that? How did you negate a summoning?" The Sage called out, in a mixed state of anger and disbelief. He had never before heard of anything capable of preventing a summoner from invoking their contract before.

"Don't look at me." Naruto merely shrugged. "It's quite childish to blame others for your own performance issues. They do sell pills for those though so I wouldn't be worried about that."

Off to the side Orochimaru started shaking as he clasped a hand against his mouth, smothering the uncharacteristic howling laughter.

Jiraiya's face went beet red in embarrassment at the implied jab at his, ahem, performance.

"I certainly hope you haven't been blaming these supposed adoring women you claim to have after you for your own, short comings." Naruto's smile widened, mockingly shaking his head as if disappointed in the other man. "Although I must confess myself confused. I was under the impression you were the Toad Sage of Konoha. How can you claim to be such if you lack the virility to conjure your little swimmers?"

Orochimaru lost his own battle. "Kukukukukuku!"

Jiraiya lost his temper at this. The ground beneath his feet cratered as his Chakra flared violently with his rage. Holding his arms out wide two swirling orbs of pure, condensed Chakra formed in his palms, a high pitched whine sounding out from them as they fully formed.

The famous Rasengan. Invented by his former student and taught to him. Feared as an A-ranked Ninjutsu, it was something that the Sannin had not truly intended to bring out in this fight. Against someone who he felt was so far beneath him it was, he felt, an insult to Minato to need to use it.

However now he was far too enraged to consider it an insult. This red haired little shit had spat on his reputation and mocked him. The fact that Naruto had done this very thing specifically to force him to lose focus and make a mistake never crossed his mind as he all but exploded forward, intending on tearing his opponent apart with the twin Rasengan.

Blood pounding in his ears with the sound of his own heartbeat and rage, Jiraiya almost missed Naruto's next words before he crashed to the ground in disbelief.

"I forfeit."

XxxX

Naruto had since returned to his tree after Shikaku had officially called the match and Orochimaru had made efforts to restrain a still frothing Jiraiya who seemed fully prepared to continue what the Sage himself called 'a beat-down not seen since the Sage of Six Paths'.

It wasn't until Sarutobi himself sent a stern look and order to his irate student that the roughed up Toad Sage forced himself to calm down.

When Jiraiya made his exit of the devastated Training Ground a still chuckling and amused Orochimaru walked over to Naruto.

"Kukuku, a most impressive bout my friend." The White Snake snickered. "I've not seen Jiraiya lose his cool that much since our Genin days."

Naruto just shrugged indifferently. "He still won in the end."

"I believe that both he and I would say differently." Orochimaru argued. "However his judgement has no weight here. Come, the panel has finished deliberation."

Naruto nodded and followed the pale skinned man to where the rest of the examiners were waiting. "Should you not have been with them for that discussion?"

The older man shrugged. "I have made my decision regardless of any other opinion. I need not speak with the others for this."

"Thank you for joining us Uzumaki-san. Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your showing today." Shikaku began, taking the lead in the judgement. "In truth I was not expecting you to be able to overcome Jiraiya-sama. His participation in today's events was more or less a means for us to evaluate the full extent of your capabilities and strength."

Naruto nodded in understanding. It was a conclusion he had come to early on. The man while technically a Jounin was considered internationally as a Kage level Shinobi. Given that the state of his Chakra coils was known to the Hokage and this panel, there was no feasible way he could be expected to overcome someone on the level a Kage tier Ninja. That final match was one he had always been meant to lose.

"Now then." The Jounin Commander continued, coming to his own personal assessment. "Your first match against Chunnin Ebisu was an impressive display of psychological assessment and manipulation. You were able to quickly determine your opponents temperament and manipulate it accordingly in order to force a mistake which resulted in your victory. Your second match against Special Jounin Uchiha Shisui while ultimately as short as your fight against Ebisu; displayed a notable grasp of battlefield awareness and the ability to control and manipulate the terrain to your advantage. You faced an opponent of superior speed and used his own inexperience against him into making a mistake that cost him, severely."

Naruto didn't even flinch at the harsh stare sent his way by Uchiha Fugaku; clearly less than pleased with the extreme treatment his clan member had suffered at the Uzumaki's hands.

"Your final match against Jiraiya was, in all appearances a combination of your previous two bouts. You showed that you were able to manipulate your opponents emotional state and distract him from his surroundings long enough for you to once again prepare a trap without Jiraiya's knowledge. Additionally this unique Ninjutsu you used to remove one of Jiraiya's greatest weapons; his summoning contract was very impressive given his reputation for collaboration Ninjutsu. It is my belief that you are at a level and qualification for the ranking of Special Jounin with my further recommendation for later advancement into the Sensei program. This village could greatly benefit from your mind."

Naruto nodded to the man in respect. It was a fair assessment. That the Jounin Commander considered him to have the potential to teach the next generation was surprising. In all honesty it was not something he had considered before. Outside of Rin and even Nagato briefly he had never truly considered becoming a Sensei in any kind of official capacity.

"Kukuku, I greatly enjoyed the spectacle Naruto-kun." Orochimaru spoke up, smiling in amusement. "While the methodology was unexpected I was not surprised to see you claim victory against the Chunnin. A most curious display of _**Fuinjutsu.**_ Likewise I anticipated your victory against the Uchiha although I once again did not foresee you being able to claim it so quickly. The usage of the _**Mizu**_ _ **Bunshin**_ __with an earth style Ninjutsu to tunnel underneath an Uchiha is not something many would consider when faced with a fully matured Sharingan. That it was successful speaks highly of your capability to defeat such a formidable Bloodline."

The pale skinned man ignored the indignant Uchiha who had not been pleased with the jab against his clan's Dojutsu.

"It was your spar against my former teammate that I was most impressed with." Orochimaru continued, eyes lighting up with both interest and amusement. "Not only avoiding such a quick collaboration Ninjutsu but succeeding in deceiving Jiraiya into believing you were injured long enough to build a trap beneath his very feet. Jiraiya has long mastered the tactic of tricking his opponents into losing their calm and angering them into making not only mistakes but revealing Ninjutsu and abilities that would normally be kept hidden. You showed an ability to use this same tactic against him by forcing him to attempt a summoning which you astonishingly prevented, but also forced him to reveal his mastery of the Rasengan. I agree with Shikaku-san that you deserve a Jounin Ranking with the difference that it is the Intelligence department who should be recommended for."

Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward next, speaking for the first time to Naruto. "I found your antics to be childish in your first and third bouts. However I cannot deny their effectiveness. You deceived Chunnin Ebisu into losing control and forced Jiraiya-dono into revealing Jutsu that normally he would have kept hidden. Your match against the Uchiha however showed a lack of mercy that while I found excessive was still appropriate given the rank for which you were set against. I was considerably impressed with the foresight you displayed in preparing a number of Explosive Tags during your second match which you left in place for your third. Regardless of this it is my decision that you be given the ranking of Chunnin on a probationary period."

Nothing more was said from the man as he stepped back.

Fugaku took his place as he took a step forward and narrowed his eyes at Naruto, his Sharingan flaring as he examined the Uzumaki carefully. "Were it not for the word of the Hyuga Clan Head and my own Sharingan I would doubt the truth of your claim that your Chakra Coils are damaged. The Ninjutsu I witnessed were expertly performed with a control I would expect a Medic to possess. What was your specialisation prior to your injury?"

"Ninjutsu specialist." Naruto replied. "As an Uzumaki pureblood my Chakra reserve is at a level that allowed me to perform multiple high level Ninjutsu with little worry for fatigue in combat. Since my injury however I have been forced to hone my focus and control in order to make use of what Ninjutsu I can still use as simple as possible."

Fugaku nodded in understanding. "As expected. An impressive tactic devised out of necessity as it would trick your enemy into making the mistake in believing your Chakra reserves are quite low when it is in fact the opposite. While I am displeased with the treatment shown to a member of my clan I will not deny the tactical benefit in the methodology you made use of in turning his attention away from you. I also noticed that you avoided direct eye contact during the match, explain."

Naruto shrugged. "It is well known that the Uchiha Clan is well versed in visual Genjutsu. Your clansman has a habit of tensing his shoulders depending on the direction of his movements. I simply watched them."

"I see. I will be sure to have Shisui's training adjusted to rectify this." The Uchiha commented. "I will defer my judgement of your ranking. However I support the Jounin Commanders' recommendation that you be considered for a Sensei position in the future. Perhaps one of my own clan will benefit from your tactics."

With nothing more to say on the matter the man turned to Sarutobi and bowed briefly before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and leaves, apparently needed elsewhere.

With only Sarutobi left to give his weight to the final judgement all eyes turned to him. The man in question had since pulled out and lit his pipe as he looked over to Naruto thoughtfully. He had spoken at length with the others after each of Naruto's matches against his three opponents. In all honesty he had expected Naruto to lose against the Uchiha. Regardless of his vast experience when compared to the ten year old the simple fact was Shisui had a fully matured Sharingan, full access to his Chakra reserves and a speed that already had him whispered as the next Yondaime. That Naruto had claimed victory and gone on to embarrass his student Jiraiya was incredible. While ultimately he surrendered and lost the match, the fact remained that Naruto had been able to move Jiraiya around like a Shogi piece.

"In my early years as a Sensei I was fortunate enough to teach three incredibly gifted students." Sarutobi began, glancing over to an equally surprised and proud Orochimaru, apparently not having expected praise at this time. "Each were different in personality, skill level and disposition. And each of them have become incredible Shinobi that to this day I am proud to call myself their Sensei. In you today I saw each of my students within you. Jiraiya's, fondness, for manipulating the emotions of his opponents. Orochimaru's intelligence and cunning and Tsunade's impressive control and ability to overcome personal limitations. Shikaku told me of the discussion you had regarding your handling of Shisui and I find myself unable to judge you harshly on it. You displayed a professionalism in considering Shisui a threat based on his rank rather than his age."

Naruto listened and waited patiently. It was interesting in that with the exception of Orochimaru, each of the judges were taking issue with how he had performed against Shisui. It was an interesting detail regarding Konoha to take note of and remember for the future. Konoha had become naive in recent times it would seem.

"After listening to the decisions of the rest of the panel and taking them all into consideration, it is my belief that you be placed on probation as Special Jounin for a period no more than two years for consideration into the ranking of Jounin."

Shikaku stepped forward once more. "And that concludes the assessment of the Panel. By an order of votes via recommendations and assessment, as Jounin Commander I am authorised to assign you the rank of Special Jounin at this time. By the support of the Sandaime Hokage you will be assigned the rank on a probationary period no greater than two years but no less than one at such time you will be eligible for further advancement. By the recommendation of Orochimaru, myself and Fugaku-dono, you will receive information packets and recruitment offers for initiation into either the Shinobi Program's Academy as Sensei-in-training or the Intelligence Department. Understand that acceptance and posting in one department does not preclude later reassignment to the other nor will it prevent you from potential reassignment to any other department. You will be expected to collect your sign of rank and Konoha Headband at the Hokage's Office within forty eight hours after which you are afforded a period of two weeks before official assignment."

"Welcome to Konoha."

XxxXxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N**

 **alright then. Chapter 10 (technically 11) officially done.**

 **Something we would like to get off of our chest given the number of reviews that have come in commenting on the short sightedness and futility of Naruto's ultimate goal.**

 **First of all WE KNOW ITS FLAWED!**

 **that is the bloody point. In Infinity War Thanos' plan to wipe out half the universe due to resource limitations was ultimately flawed as well. For Naruto he has only known war as it is with Chakra. Any conflict to take place after Chakra is gone would not be on the kind of scale that Naruto identifies as 'War'. In this kind of world Naruto has no understanding of guns and bombs like the A-Bomb of WWII so that's not even remotely a concern.**

 **When he takes Chakra away there will be a significant period of time where war is extinct. Without Chakra the cost of war would be far too high for any nation to justify. No more singular ninja able to devastate a landscape solo no more invisible assassins.**

 **Without Chakra there will never be another Uzu Massacre by Naruto's thinking.**

 **There will still be conflicts and violence.**

 **But there will never be another Great Ninja War.**

 **Thanos was ultimately flawed in his thinking.**

 **Zero Chakra Plan is a Thanos inspired Naruto.**

 **Naruto is ultimately short sighted in his thinking.**

 **WE KNOW!**

 ***ahem*.**

 **Thanks for reading. Remember to fav, follow and review.**


	12. A Day in the Life

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the collective works of Naruto, Avengers or anything that may come into the following **Fan made** piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.

" **Balance in all things.** **" Jutsu/ Demon speech/Jinchuriki speech.**

 _'_ _Balance in all things._ _' Thought_

"Balance in all things." Regular Speaking

 **"** ** _ **Balance in all things.**_** **" Flashback Jutsu/** **Flashback** **Demon** **speech** **.**

 **"** ** _Balance in all things._** ** _"_** ** _Flashback speech._**

XxxXxxXxxX

 _Previously:_

 _Shikaku stepped forward once more. "And that concludes the assessment of the Panel. By an order of votes via recommendations and assessment, as Jounin Commander I am authorised to assign you the rank of Special Jounin at this time. By the support of the Sandaime Hokage you will be assigned the rank on a probationary period no greater than two years but no less than one at such time you will be eligible for further advancement. By the recommendation of Orochimaru, myself and Fugaku-dono, you will receive information packets and recruitment offers for initiation into either the Shinobi Program's Academy as Sensei-in-training or the Intelligence Department. Understand that acceptance and posting in one department does not preclude later reassignment to the other nor will it prevent you from potential reassignment to any other department. You will be expected to collect your sign of rank and Konoha Headband at the Hokage's Office within forty eight hours after which you are afforded a period of two weeks before official assignment."_

" _Welcome to Konoha."_

XxxXxxXxxX

Naruto ignored the stares he was getting from the surrounding civilians as he strode down the busy streets of Konoha's shopping district, tuning out their whispers and more than one quiet giggle a the image he portrayed; a red haired Shinobi with a tiny three year old perched on his shoulders pulling at his hair like a rider on a horse.

"Forward Ojisan!"

Instead Naruto simply rolled his eyes in good humor. Natusmi had taken well to him in the time since his arrival at Konoha, with Kushina and her daughter spending more time at his home than at their own, it had been a foregone conclusion that the young toddler would grow attached to the man that bore a resemblance to her mother.

The moment the little terror had learned how to walk had seen the end of his peace and quiet at home as Natsumi rarely allowed him a moment alone; following after him more often than his own shadow.

Truth be said though, he didn't mind. It was, nice, after all these years to see another Uzumaki running around without care. Like it had been before.

He was here with a job. One that was far greater and more important than spending time with his newly rediscovered kin. But for the life of him he could not turn Kushina or Natsumi away when they came to him. Kami help him if they turned on the waterworks whenever he had to tell them he was busy.

Which was the sole reason why he was escorting his three year old 'niece' to the Shopping District. It was the third birthday of her best friend coming up in a weeks time and Natsumi was determined to get the ' _bestest present in the history of forever._ '

Kushina had waved off any involvement and made the excuse that she was meeting with her good friend; Uchiha Mikoto. Naruto didn't believe her. Kushina had been wearing a massive impish grin the entire time she had made the excuse after all which was all Naruto had needed in order to find her unwillingness to accompany them suspect.

That was now confirmed as, even now, he could feel the woman spying on him and her daughter a few houses away.

"Natsumi-chan we've passed by three toy stores already. Do you even know where we're going?" Naruto asked as he peered up to the cheering girl.

"Silence steed!" The girl in question howled with a feather light smack on the top of his head. "An Uzumaki is never lost! Even when she doesn't know where she is or where she is going! Kaasan said so."

Naruto breathed out a defeated sigh. Kushina's terrible sense of direction had been well and truly inherited it seemed.

"So tell me about your friend."

The blonde tilted her head to the side in confusion at the question, still pulling at his hair to direct him as the street turned a corner. "Hinata-chan? Ano, Hinata-chan is Hinata-chan."

The straight forward, no nonsense delivery had Naruto feel a drop of sweat beat at his forehead, somehow feeling as if _he_ was the one saying stupid things. How a three year old could do that he had no idea.

"What kind of family does she come from?"

Natsumi perked up. "Oh I know this one!" She looked so proud right now. "Hinata-chan is from the Hyuga clan! They are the ones with the Blinking-gum. Kaachan says that they are pervy eyes that let the Hyuga be pervs and enemies to all women."

Naruto stumbled forward at the simplistic and completely single-minded view of one of the oldest and most powerful bloodlines in the history of the Elemental Nations. Trust Kushina to take something with vast combat potential and proven efficiency in wartime and sum it up as the talent of a voyeur.

"And what do you think Hinata-chan would like to get for her birthday?"

Natsumi scrunched her face up tightly, squinting her eyes shut in thought.

Naruto winced when a particularly sharp tug at his hair had him turn slightly.

"A...fluffy...bunny rabbit!"

Naruto could have sworn he heard a distant cry of ' _Y_ _outh_ ' as Natsumi struck a victorious pose atop his head, right foot on his shoulder while her left was firmly planted on his head and her arms held out wide as if she were some conquering hero.

Naruto responded only with a soft smile that had more than a few women gush at the sight and Kushina from her hiding place grinding her teeth with rage at those 'hussies'. He had forgotten how dramatic Uzumaki children could be.

It was nothing short of good fortune that had provided Naruto the time off to spend with Natsumi and Kushina. Ever since his official enlistment into Konoha's Shinobi Program and provisional ranking as a Special Jounin he had been working nearly non-stop in order to ingrain himself into the rank and file. It was, beneficial to prove himself trustworthy and invaluable to the higher ups of Konoha's leadership. The sooner he could prove himself to the Hokage, his advisers and the Shinobi High Council, the sooner he would be able to move outside of the village without oversight. Rin and Nagato were hard at work continuing the Plan; maintaining and operating the network he had developed and Rin was, on top of that, searching for any sign of potential catalysts to serve as the next stone.

The current _Mitsue-shiro_ of the Rabbit Clan; Mikoto had assigned a couple of her children to serve as messengers between himself and Rin so the two had been able to stay in contact with one another. Konoha's famed barrier was not up to the task of detecting one of the oldest summon contracted animals when they passed through it.

At the present time Rin was in the process of investigating historical landmarks across the continent for any remnants of the more mythical history that pertained to the Rabbit-Goddess and the Sage of Six Paths in the effort of finding any clue or sign that could direct her to a suitable catalyst or at the very least something that could be of use for the Plan in general.

Apart from that, the Masked Man that had claimed the identity of Uchiha Madara and stolen control over Nagato and Yahiko's Akatsuki had been a busy man. He had left Ame and as a result Nagato and Konan alone; most likely out of a desire to maintain some level of secrecy from the world at large.

But he hadn't been able to hide completely. Naruto had been informed of some of the man's movements; particularly his recruitment of a number of Missing-nin to serve under him. Of those recruits two names had reached his attention: Kakuzu, former Shinobi of Taki and rumored assassin of the legendary Senju Hashirama. And Akasuna no Sasori, former Shinobi of Suna and master of the puppetry technique. Both S-ranked and extremely dangerous in their own right.

According to Nagato; 'Madara' was looking to add another S-rank to his ranks in the form of a Missing-nin from Kumogakure; 'N' the Thunder Sword.

He would have to make a reminder to keep an eye on how that organisation progressed over time. If 'Madara' continued to acquire S-ranked Shinobi, they may very we-

"Stop! we're here!"

Literally punched out of his thoughts by an overly enthusiastic toddler; Naruto reached up to rub at his sore head from where Natsumi had slammed her fist down, trying to ignore the fact that he could almost certainly feel a lump forming on the crown of his head from where Natsumi had hit him; silently marvelling at the strength this three year old, Jinchuriki or not, possessed. Turning his attention forward he saw that Natsumi had been able to direct him to one of the more popular toy shops within Konoha.

"This one! This is where we get Hinata-chan's birthday present of supreme-ultimate-fluffy-cuteness!"

Once again Naruto ignored the spike of killing intent aimed at the women around him who once more gushed at the sight of what they thought was a single father and his daughter. Kushina's jealous tendencies regarding her family were going to land her in trouble one of these days when she finally snapped.

With a shake of his head the red head entered the store, ducking down so Natsumi didn't hit her head. Thankfully, for the store-owner that is, the attending staff had no issues with the young Jinchuriki.

In the year since his first arrival to Konoha Naruto had experienced the displeasure of noticing the quiet glares being cast at the innocent child by more than a few civilians and even some of the Shinobi. Kushina did her best to make sure that Natsumi was not affected by the contempt that many of the villagers had for her; unable to acknowledge the difference between the beautiful child with the monster that she unknowingly held.

It was fortunate, once again for the villagers, that Naruto and Kushina were enough of a deterrent to any and all that had more 'violent' ideas.

It surprisingly did not take Natsumi long at all to find her supremely awesome gift for Hinata-chan, the blond haired ball of energy almost literally bouncing back to a waiting Naruto clutching a stuffed rabbit nearly twice her own size.

When the rabbit was purchased and stored safely within one of Naruto's storage seals that he kept on hand, Natsumi was returned to her throne atop his shoulders and the pair turned their attention to the next, more important mission of the day. One that sparked a fire within Naruto's eyes that was matched only by the fierce determination and passion of Natsumi herself.

Ramen time.

XxxX

True to expectations, the Hyuga threw a great party. A bit too formal for Naruto's liking but the food provided was better than anything found in all of Konoha. The party itself had been divided into two; the more formal gathering of the attending adults wishing to pay their respects and well wishes to the clan heiress via a stoically beaming Hiashi as well as the parents of the children that had received invitations. The second party was for the children themselves. Organised in a separate room from the adults it was there that there was music playing, sugary food and games of all sorts to entertain the rampaging monsters.

Naruto had poked his head in briefly to check in on Natsumi before fleeing at speed when he saw the look in both Natsumi and the Yamanaka heirs eyes when they spotted him. Young Ino had been reaching for makeup the moment she had locked her eyes on him which had been all the Uzumaki needed to know that retreat was the best course of action.

Kushina had nearly collapsed with laughter when she learned of why he looked so pale when he had returned to the adults party.

"So this is where you have been hiding Naruto-san."

The man in question turned his head and smiled politely at the shorter. Raven haired woman that had sneaked up on him. "Mikoto-san."

"Ah don't be like that Naruto-san." The Uchiha matriarch whined, sliding up to him to clutch at his arm with a coy smile on her face. "You'll make me feel like an old woman at this rate."

Naruto rolled his eyes. He knew full well what the woman was doing. Kushina had to be nearby. He had quickly learned that Mikoto's greatest hobby was teasing her best friend and it had taken the Uchiha moments after their first meeting that flirting with her cousin was now the easiest and most entertaining way to get a rise out of Konoha's Red Hot-Blooded Habanero.

Naruto had been concerned at first of the ire he would be getting from her husband Fugaku regarding his wife's behavior to him, but a night out drinking with the Head of the Uchiha Clan revealed that he knew that Mikoto's actions were harmless fun done only for the purpose of annoying Kushina. It was why even now the only response Naruto was getting from the Uchiha Clan head was an expression of understanding pity.

"We are only as old as we feel Mikoto-chan." Naruto replied, shifting the suffix as he smiled and pulled his arm out of her clutch to wrap it gently around the woman's side, pulling her in closer to whisper in her ear. "And by how you feel, I dare say you will be as firm and, enthusiastic, as any Uzumaki."

Mikoto's face exploded into a blush as she felt the hot breath of the older, attractive man in her ear coupled with the shameless tease. Despite the fact that she was quite happily married to her beloved Fugaku and still very much in love with the man she could not stop her treacherous heart from skipping a beat.

It was only the sound of teeth grinding together and the waves of rage wafting from behind the two that spared her the embarrassment of stammering and therefore losing the game.

"Mi-Ko-To-Chan!"

Naruto pulled back from the still blushing Uchiha and afforded her a wicked smile, conveying perfectly his satisfaction in turning the tables despite her overall victory in annoying the extremely irate Uzumaki Kushina before turning to the seething redhead in question.

"Kushina-chan! what's wrong?" The still smirking man asked innocently, ignoring the haze of blood-lust wafting off of the woman as well as the way her long hair was waving behind her in nine tails.

"What is the meaning of this Onii-san?" Kushina seethed, flicking her glaring eyes from a smug looking Naruto to Mikoto that was still blushing but recovered enough to giggle at her expense.

"Just a friendly talk. Nothing all that concerning really." Naruto replied with a shrug. "Why? What did you think was going on?"

Kushina fought the blush from rising up on her own cheeks. With the accusation turned back on her she couldn't very well admit that she believed that her friend was seducing her precious cousin and that her own jealousy and paranoia had convinced her that Mikoto was moments away from dragging Naruto away for some kind of salacious affair.

"Fufufu, is Kushina-chan having pervy thoughts over her beloved Onii-chan?" Mikoto teased with a coy hand covering her mouth, having regained control over herself once more. "Ara, ara, how scandalous."

There was no stopping it now. Kushina's face exploded in a powerful, deep blush as she lost all intimidation in her posture and aura as she backed up a step waving her hands in front of her defensively. "What!? No, no, no! that's not it at all, I wasn't thinking about you seducing Naruto-kun and taking him to some dark secret part of the Hyuga manor where he would ruin you for all men and you would both come back sweaty and clothes wrinkled and everyone would know what you did and..."

Naruto couldn't help it. He had to bite his fist to stop himself from laughing at the fact that Kushina was digging her own grave the more she inadvertently revealed the depth of her own thoughts and depravity. Even Himiko; Hyuga Hiashi's wife was blushing. And that woman had more control over her emotions that a medic-nin had over their own Chakra.

It was a good thing that pervert Jiraiya wasn't here. The man would have passed out from blood loss at the direction Kushina's thoughts had taken her.

Eventually, and thankfully for the majority of the room, Kushina regained some motor control to clamp her hands down over her mouth as her eyes and brain caught up with her mouth at seeing just how widely Mikoto was grinning the more she 'confessed.'

"Oh my, I think I should be worried about poor Naruto-kun's virtue, living so close to such a depraved monster." The Uchiha woman giggled, stepping over to Naruto's side to loop her arm around his. "I fear what would happen to poor, innocent Naruto-kun when Kushina-chan finally snaps."

It should not be possible for Kushina to blush any further than she already was. Naruto was growing concerned when he could swear he could feel actual heat emanating from the young Uzumaki's cheeks.

"I think she's had enough Mikoto-chan." Naruto advised gently.

"Mouuu, are you sure Naruto-kun?" Mikoto pouted up to him. "I could mention exactly the things I could do to make sure you never look at another woman like little Kushina-chan ever again."

There was a crack as the floor beneath Kushina's right foot cratered slightly.

"I think that would be best left for another time."

Mikoto didn't look pleased.

Thankfully, Naruto saw his means of escaping the situation entirely. "Fugaku-san!"

With the swiftness that would have put many a veteran Shinobi to shame, Naruto extracted himself from the deceptively tight grip of Mikoto and rushed over to the Uchiha in question; leaving the two women to continue their own 'conversation.'

"Uzumaki-san, have you come to confess to your theft of the heart of my dear wife?" The Uchiha drawled, a mostly concealed smirk evident at the corner of his mouth.

"Don't you start too." Naruto warned with a pointed finger. "It's bad enough Kushina-chan is going to keep reminding me for the next week, I don't need it from you as well."

Mercifully the Clan Head nodded in understanding. "Very Well. I Trust you have settled well into Konoha. You have been busy since your evaluation last year."

"Well enough." Naruto replied with a shrug. "Hokage-sama has been kind enough to keep my busy and provided me with a number of opportunities to prove my worth to the village regardless of my, condition."

The stoic man nodded. "I understand that Orochimaru-sama often attempts to recruit you into the Intelligence Department."

Naruto nodded his head. It was true. In the year since his probational admittance into the Shinobi Program as a Special Jounin, the Snake Sannin had made it a point to begin and continue attempts into directing his career path into Konoha's Intelligence Division. The only reason Orochimaru even _needed_ to keep asking Naruto, meaning that he had been refusing thus far, was that Naruto felt he needed to further establish himself and his reputation amongst the regular rank and file within the Shinobi Program before moving into a more specialised sector.

"He is persistent I will say that much."

Fugaku was in agreement to that. Of the three Sannin, well two considering the departure of the Slug Princess Tsunade, Orochimaru was the more dedicated to the Village and the Shinobi Program. For all his reputation Jiraiya seemed to be more concerned with his fame as a writer than anything else.

"I heard that your eldest made Genin recently." Naruto prodded.

This brought a proud smile to the Uchiha's face. "Indeed. My son Itachi. He graduated the Academy at the age of seven, the youngest outside of wartime."

Naruto returned the smile, feeling the pride that the man felt regarding his son's achievement. "An achievement well earned if even half of what I have heard of young Itachi is true."

"It is something both myself and Mikoto are both proud of." Fugaku nodded in agreement. "That he upholds the reputation and prestige of the Uchiha name so well, I can only hope that my youngest Sasuke grows to match his brother."

"Your youngest is Natsumi-chan's age yes?" Naruto asked. "I wonder if the fates will be kind enough to see your son on the same team as my niece. Quite a power house wouldn't you agree?"

Fugaku nodded with keen interest. Truly the thought of an Uchiha teamed with an Uzumaki. It was a heady combination.

"Kushina-san and Mikoto often set up lay dates between my son and her daughter." The man said slowly, almost chewing his words thoughtfully before voicing them. "Perhaps you and I should arrange for a similar arrangement when it comes time to see to their training?"

"I'll have to speak with Kushina-chan, but I believe that could work out."

The conversation between the Survivor of Uzu and the Head of the Uchiha Clan was interrupted when a blonde blur crashed bodily into Naruto's leg.

Looking down to the now firmly attached body that was almost fused to his leg so tightly was it clutching him, Naruto paled slightly when he saw the wide, puppy-dog like eyes of Uzumaki Natsumi twinkling up at him.

"Ne, ne, Ojisan! Can I have a sleepover here with Hinata-chan?"

XxxX

In the end, Naruto had been able to deflect the power of Natsumi's eyes towards her mother whom had readily agreed to it after a quick discussion with Hitomi and Hiashi. It seemed that Natsumi and Ino had worked together to convince the more quiet and meek Hinata to be agreeable to a slumber party in the aftermath of the party.

The end result of that unholy alliance was Hinata's face lighting up in joy when she was told her two friends Ino and Natsumi would be permitted to stay the night.

The adults party came to its end when it drew close for the children to head to bed with Kushina stumbling away, supported by Mikoto while she wailed at how her baby girl was growing up and already leaving home; much to the fond amusement of Naruto who followed in their wake.

The Village was surprisingly subdued considering everything that was going on. Not in regard to the Hyuga heiresses birthday, for the most part the Village as a whole was unaffected by that. No it was considering the fact that Konoha and Kumo were in the process of signing the treaty that would put an end to the conflicts that had arisen in the past during the previous Great Ninja Wars. Naruto was doubtful it would have any real meaning. Konoha was not one to share the pedestal it enjoyed standing upon and Kumo was always in search of its next power grab. Sooner or later that Treaty that Sarutobi was signing with Kumo's Head Ninja would not be worth the paper it was signed upon.

Currently Naruto was leaning against the trunk of a large tree along the perimeter of one of Konoha's internal Training fields near the Shinobi Academy. With the Hinata girl's party now over there was no distracting himself from the fact that high ranking Shinobi of one of the villages that had destroyed his family and home were in the village. The last thing he wanted to do was bring down Kushina's mood with that reminder and in this place; separated from the rest of the village, he was less likely to do something foolish like seek out some pointless gesture of vengeance.

He had run some tests on the Sealing Stone; a habit he had picked up whenever he was bored. Experimenting with its capabilities and seeing just how far its outer limits were. An answer he had yet to reach.

Apart from that he had, every now and again, checked up on Natsumi; reaching out with his Chakra and senses to monitor the state of her Chakra network as well as its relative location. There had been some activity and a sense of mischief that Naruto had concluded to be a sign that the cheeky brat had convinced Hinata to stage a midnight raid on the Hyuga's kitchen pantry before she settled into a calm state of sleep.

Naruto had returned the Sealing Stone to its hiding place and pushed himself back to his feet; figuring that he might as well get some training in; see if he couldn't hone his Chakra Control into furthering the natural amplification of physical attributes such as speed and strength when he felt, something.

He had made sure to keep a passive eye on Natsumi; familial concern as to her well being and safety given that this was her first time outside of Kushina and his supervision.

It would seem that it had been a smart move as when Naruto stopped and turned away from the training field to face the direction of the Hyuga complex to get a better 'eye' on what it was he could feel, he was able to properly sense Natsumi's Chakra leave the perimeter of the Hyuga's land. That was concerning enough as it was. What was Natsumi thinking; leaving the safety of the Hyuga compound at so late an hour? But that question was made redundant and the potential situation made more alarming by a single, frightening fact; Natsumi's Chakra was still stagnant. Meaning: she was still asleep.

It was an experience that Naruto had not felt since he had tasked Rin to Konoha and later learned that the Kyubi had been released. It was an emotion that he had hoped not to go through in this regard; fear.

There was no hesitation or deliberation; Naruto shot out of the Training field at speed, tightening his control over his Chakra as much as he could to maximise his capabilities with the atrophy seal still in place. If it turned out to be nothing then he would learn how Natsumi had been able to calm her network to the level where he mistook it for unconsciousness before seeing to it she was grounded with Kushina. If it turned out to be what he feared, then he would deal with it.

It was as he neared Natsumi's Chakra signal that his senses picked up on two more. The first was Hyuga Hinata's, he was not as familiar with the Chakra of his niece's best friend and so needed the close proximity to pick up on it. The other one, was cause for alarm. A Shinobi, highly trained and actively engaged in stealth maneuvers that had the Chakra Network suppressed to the level of the average civilian. Difficult to pick up, but not if a Sensor was looking directly at them. Like Naruto was.

It was a stealth tactic that Naruto had seen before; in Uzu.

When the redhead cleared the final line of buildings that separated him from Natsumi, Hinata and this third unknown, his blood boiled.

An unknown Shinobi; dressed in black with a head covering that completely concealed the identity of the man with only a small gap that exposed the eyes. Hanging from the man's arms were two small children; Hinata and Natsumi.

There was a faint concern for the well being and potential fate of Yamanaka Ino; the other girl that he was aware had stayed at the Hyuga home for the sleepover, but that was pushed aside for the more pressing concern.

Recover Natsumi and Hinata.

Naruto had left his gear at the apartment and was still dressed in his more civilian attire which was why the Uzumaki tore a tile from the roof he was standing on and threw it down toward the kidnapper, hands flashing together into a burst of hand-seals.

" _ **Kawari Shuriken (Roof Tile Shuriken).** "_

The roof tile's edge shifted as Chakra was infused into it and sharpened. The weaponized tile impacted into the ground a few feet in front of the kidnapper, stabbing deep into the pathway and effectively bringing the unknown Shinobi to a stop.

Looking up in the direction the makeshift weapon had come from the kidnapper took a step back in alarm when he saw the glowering form of Uzumaki Naruto looming overhead; like a vengeful wraith with the moon framing his form.

There were no words said. The enemy Shinobi simply dropped the two unconscious children and leapt at Naruto; lighting forming at his fingertips. It inadvertently narrowed the identity of the kidnapper to two possibilities; Hatake Kakashi, known for his elemental affinity for lightning that would make him capable of the seal-less feat of channelling Lightning Chakra like this. And Kumo.

Naruto understood fully well that Kakashi would gladly die before acting against the family of his Sensei; the Yondaime Hokage. There was no chance in heaven and hell that the Copy-nin of Konoha would turn traitor. Which left the single, obvious conclusion.

Kumo was attempting another kidnapping just like they had attempted years ago when Kushina had been a child.

Naruto snarled and backhanded the cretin the moment the Kumo Shinobi came into range, knocking the man flying across the roof to the adjacent building and completely ignoring the sting as he felt lightning infused fingers jab into his chest. The pain was minimal, there was no bleeding as the lightning infused Chakra cauterised the puncture wound. All it did was cause a minor spasm of his muscles and a brief tightness in his chest as his heart skipped a beat before the foreign Chakra was purged via a Chakra flush courtesy of Naruto himself.

The Kumo ninja recovered easily; back flipping in mid flight with the blow and finding his feet against the wall before kicking off to re-engage.

Still the enemy was silent as he returned to attack the furious Uzumaki.

Naruto wasn't content to allow the bastard to come to him any longer. With a pulse of Chakra Naruto seemingly vanished from the space he had been occupying to suddenly appear right in the face of the astonished Kumo Shinobi. A powerful palm thrust doubled the kidnapper over Naruto's arm for a moment before an accompanying burst of Chakra from Naruto's open palm rocketed the enemy Shinobi backward and into the wall of the building behind him.

With Kumo gasping for breath and trying to heave himself back to his feet, Naruto briefly turned his head, eyes flicking over to his periphery before; with a short nod, hopped off of the roof and down to the street where Hinata and Natsumi were resting.

Seeing that the Uzumaki that had waylaid him from completing his mission had seemingly abandoned the effort in fighting him, the Kumo ninja lost his patience.

A powerful flare of Chakra that was far too much to have any hope of maintaining his secrecy within Konoha and he sped through a long chain of hand-seals.

Naruto could feel the build up of Lightning Chakra from within the man and allowed a small smirk of amusement when he noticed his earlier handiwork take effect and drawing the gathered Chakra down into the pit of the Kumo Shinobi's stomach.

" _ **Raiton: Gain! (Lightning Style: False Darkness)**_ "

Naruto didn't even bother turning his eyes back to the Kumo Ninja to see the confusion in the man's posture when there was a brief surge of Chakra followed by a small puff of smoke and the smell of ozone belched out from the man's mouth as the Jutsu failed.

No Naruto simply kept his attention on Natsumi and Hinata; checking them to make sure that they were unharmed.

There was no need for him to deal with the wretch that had foolishly chosen to waste his life by attempting to kidnap not only Uzumaki Natsumi, but Hyuga Hinata; daughter of a very, _very_ , angry father.

" _ **You are within my range of divination.**_ "

...Who happened to be standing right behind the fool in question.

XxxXxxXxxX

 **A/N**

 **Its been a long time coming, but your patience has been rewarded (hopefully). Here is the latest chapter of Zero Chakra Plan!**

 **So this was really meant to be a 'slice of life' chapter if you will for Naruto. we're really trying to work on Naruto's personal development as a character so we feel that it is worth the time spent seeing him like this, relaxing and interacting with others. If we skipped right over it and just focused on him 'Thanos-ing' then it would serve only to make Naruto a shallow one dimensional character and therefore; boring.**

 **We put in a bit of humor into this chapter mainly as a test to see how it goes. We tend to do that; test out ideas and writing methods to see how it is received by the readers. That and we felt that certain characters around at this time are known for their humorous moments; case in point Natsumi and Kushina.**

 **Mikoto is largely unknown in regards to personality so we took some liberty with what we wanted and felt that if she was friends with someone like Kushina of all people; then she really _had_ to have a sense of humor.**

 **Out of curiosity...and an imaginary cookie for anyone who can guess correctly:**

 **What did Naruto do to that Kumo Shinobi that caused his Jutsu to fail?**

 **We are doubtful anyone will be able to figure out _exactly_ what we did, but we are curious to see what possibilities could be considered.**

 **Let us know as well what your thoughts are in regard to this story as a whole. We appreciate feedback.**

 **And by feedback we do not mean pointless b****t reviews that just say that this story is shit or Naruto is an idiot. We ignore those. Give us actual thought out feedback to consider.**

 **Next week we should be putting out the next instalment of Harry Whisperwind in 'Risen in Light, Fallen to Shadow.'**

 **stay tuned.**


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